It Must Be Magic
by Midnight-senpai
Summary: Victoria Natrux, a new member of Fairy Tail, lives a very exciting and happy life with her new friends. She's gaining her magic abilities as time moves on, and her bonds with her new family members are strengthening. However, when her past starts catching up with her after meeting Mavis Vermilion once again, there's a lot more danger involved than the potential threat of Zeref.
1. Prologue

It came like a storm on a sunny day; The end of my very being, and the beginning of my removal.

The battlefield was bloody and dark. The sun was in the cloudless sky, but its light never reached us. I stood in the face of danger, standing with my only remaining friend. Her ash-blonde hair was stained with red, her signature outfit was torn and covered with mud, and her fair, pale skin was cut, bruised, and deeply injured. The smile I loved so much was gone, and her bright eyes were dark and filled with both rage and horror. It pained me, seeing her this way.

But who wouldn't look that way when they lose their family?

Everyone was gone. All of our friends had either fled or died. We were the only ones left to fight the enemies. But only two people? Normal people would say we couldn't do it. But we were still protecting our family, and we wouldn't back down.

"Hey," my friend spoke, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Do you think we can do this?"

"We have to try," I replied bluntly, my deep brown eyes turning to the blotch of black on our land.

I could still feel her caution flying off of her, even if I wasn't looking. Her eyes were staring right into me. I knew she was trying to figure out what I was feeling, like she always was. I sighed and turned back to her, clutching my fists together. "This is our land. Those evil people are trying to take it."

"I know, and it infuriates me, too," she replied, noticing the increase of my tension. "But the guild has left us. We don't have anything to protect except the village."

"They will come back." I looked towards the mountains with hope in my eyes. "They were all too tired. They left to prepare."

She walked closer to me, her tone raising to a squeal as she spoke. "Then we should be with them! We shouldn't be out here, death awaiting us, while everyone else is going to gain strength!"

"And allow those beasts to take our home? That's what they want." I could sense her worry still overflowing. I gave her a teasing smile. "You are acting so worried and afraid. I thought the Master was supposed to be the calm one."

I received a harsh yet playful shove. "Oh, shush." I smiled when I saw her annoyed face, seeing the girl I became friends with all those years ago. But the face fell and was replaced with the shadow of sorrow. "I might be the Master of our guild... And I might be the leader of this battle... But it doesn't feel like it. I'm probably the only one that is still terrified of fighting out here. I'm scared stiff!"

"As am I."

She stared at me with disbelief in her eyes. "You? Scared? You're braver than most of the men!"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not. I'm always scared I will die in my fights. But I always push myself anyway, because I know it's the right thing to do." I smiled brightly at her with encouragement in my eyes. "Now, let's go see if we can kill some more enemies!"

My friend hesitated before nodding, her happy smile returning for just a moment. "Sure! Okay!"

So much red. Everything I looked at was stained red. No, my _eyes _were stained with that color. The color of blood.

I couldn't move. I was numb and cold, laying limp in the dead, bloody grass. My best friend and guild master laid beside me, completely drenched with the awful color. Her hand was trying to reach mine, trying to grab hold of me. She appeared to be crying blood, but I knew it was just my eyes making it look that way. She was in pain, meaning she was to live.

I, however, didn't gain the luxury of life.

She managed to grab hold of my hand, but I couldn't feel her grip. Her lips moved, but I couldn't hear her. It took me a long moment to realize that I was crying; it explained why my vision would blur and grow more red until I blinked. I strained hard to hear the crying girl beside me. I didn't pick up all of her words at first, but I did gain my hearing by the end.

"... were all such idiots."

I forced my mouth to open, but instead of words coming out, I moved into a harsh fit of coughing. A lot of blood came out, which worried her. But I did manage to form words afterwards. "Did... We get them all?"

She stared at me with sad eyes before shaking her head. "One is left. The real threat. It got us when we didn't see it."

I felt my entire being sink. I sighed, closing my eyes half way. "So we couldn't even protect our home."

She shook her head again. "No, we couldn't. And now we're both going to die."

I managed to get out a soft chuckle at her words. "No. You will live." My hand then began to move, even though I couldn't feel it. It opened up from how it looked as a broken fist, revealing a silver necklace. On it was a glass version of our guild's mark. I grabbed her hand and put the insignia on her palm. I smiled as it glowed a color I assumed was pale yellow - her magic's color.

Her eyes widened with horror as the glass began to fill with a pale yellow light. "You... You didn't-!"

"I finished it last night," I said with a smile. "I was planning on giving it to you after we won, but..." I gave her a wink. "Looks like you need it more right now."

"But you're the one at risk of death!" she protested, her voice a shrill of disbelief. "If you give it to me, you will die!"

My smile didn't waver, which obviously shocked and displeased her. "But if I keep it, you'll end up dying. And believe me, I think the guild needs a master instead of a strong member."

She stared at me with broken and depressed eyes, beginning to weep and shake with sobs as the light filled the entirety of the necklace. I just kept smiling at her, watching as my vision began to blur. It was a few moments before she spoke to me, her voice broken. "You aren't in pain... Right?"

"No," I said in a weaker voice than before, putting more effort into talking so it could be audible. "Not physically, no. But I am sad."

"Of course you would be sad! You're... Dying..."

"That isn't why I'm sad." I lowered my smile and closed my red eyes, too tired to even move my face around. "I couldn't protect you, Mavis. I couldn't protect you or our guild." I let my smile return, unable to do anything else. "But you can. Master Mavis, protect the family... Just like you've always wanted to..."

The last thing I heard was my name. Mavis had screamed it. Her voice was so broken, so sad. For some reason, my name had a little ring to it. Victoria. The way she said it - maybe her slight accent - made it sound better. Of course, it could have been because I was dying. I wouldn't know.

There was a light, then darkness. Then a sound came - a sound I didn't know I would hear. Thunder.


	2. Chapter 1

I couldn't move at all, but I could definitely feel. I was in a lot of pain for some strange reason. That's weird. I thought you weren't supposed to feel pain when you die...?

No. I wasn't dead. I was alive.

Slowly I opened my eyes, all of the red from before pouring out and returning my proper vision. I could feel the blood falling down my cheeks and into my blood-stained hair. I tried moving my arm, but it was so stiff and in pain that I couldn't even bend my fingers. Even my eyes stung as I looked at my surroundings.

Trees. A lot of trees. All of the green leaves were attached, so I assumed it was summertime. With the storm around me billowing harsh winds and icy rain, not only was I cold and soaked, but the trees were threatening to fall on me. I could also hear a river nearby, the water crashing wildly with the chance of overflowing. If that river water went over its limit, I could probably drown before a tree crushed me.

Then I realized something. Something seemed almost familiar about this place. Of course the surroundings were completely off, but there was just... _something_. I took a deep breath and caught a familiar scent. It was the ground. The ground told plenty of stories from the past, since it was always there.

This ground screamed blood, death, and tears. I could hear the soil moving around under my ear over the skeletons of the fallen. I could almost taste all of the magic that was used years before now. This was the battlefield I should have died on.

That raised more questions than it answered. Why was I staring at trees when I remember a field? Where did all of my living comrades go? What happened to Mavis?

Mavis. Mavis couldn't have! I would have sat up, but just the thought of it made my bones ache. She told me long before the battle that she was trying to master a spell that could protect someone from anything, including death, as well as stop them from moving forward in time. It was a spur of the moment... Could she have used that spell on me? It seemed like the only solution, since there was a forest around me when there used to be a couple of newly growing trees.

My eyes grew tired and I had to close them again. I was in no mood to sleep, though, so I just laid on the cold ground and thought things through. If that spell of Mavis's - Fairy Sphere, I think - was used on me, then I was somewhere in the future of my birth time. The thought of that creeped me out, and I was used to some really crazy things. What confused me was what time I was in. The ground had experienced so much in the time I was gone. So much darkness, and yet so much light. It hurt my head, processing it all.

But all thoughts of mine silenced when I caught the scent of my guild. So Fairy Tail is still alive after all? Just the thought made my heart soar and a smile form on my pained face. After a few moments, the wind changed direction, carrying voices to me.

"How come Erza didn't come with you?" a female's voice came, sounding tired and rather annoyed. "I'm sure she could've found shelter by now."

"She stayed behind to talk to Natsu about something." a male's smooth yet also annoyed voice replied. "I'm actually glad she didn't have him come with me. I don't want to be ticked off by some fire breather and completely miss a cave or something."

Shelter? I could feel a rather large cave in the ground nearby. Completely empty besides a couple of crabs near a stream in the back. Probably a tunnel leading to a cave system. If they walked this way, they could probably find it in no time.

"I think I see something!" the female exclaimed out of nowhere. I could hear her footsteps on the ground growing closer, then I heard another pair. The first pair stopped rather close to me, but she wasn't in line of sight to see me. She stopped at a small poor excuse of a cave that could only fit two people. "That won't work, will it?" she asked the male sadly.

"No, but good job finding it." he said to her before walking again, the girl following close behind. The male stopped suddenly, and I heard the skidding of the girl's feet. She must have run into him. She couldn't say anything though, for the male's footsteps quickened to a run. "What is-" Immediately he cut himself off and broke into a flat out sprint. He had found me.

"Oh my God!" the girl shrieked from a distance, quickly running after her friend. "What happened to her?!"

I felt large, strong hands touch me, and all of the pain in my body sparked. If I was able to scream, I would have. However, my mouth wouldn't open, and my throat only tightened. The man beside me felt cold, probably due to the rain. We were still on the ground, but my torso was lifted by his arm. "What could've done this to her? This had to have been recent; she's still bleeding." His voice was hard with anger. Just like a Fairy Tail mage to be mad at the sight of a hurt human.

"No, wait," The girl got down near my head, pressing her fingers to my neck. "Gray, this girl's alive!"

Immediately, very cold substances began covering me. It felt good over my wounds, and it relaxed my tense muscles. I mustered the strength to open my eyes, light blinding me for a short moment before my eyes cleared. A man with black, almost navy blue hair was holding me, using his ice to cover me. Based on how much there was, I must have been pretty beaten. I locked my eyes with his dark ones just for a moment before his entire face flooded with relief. "You arealive."

I heard a happy sigh come from behind me. I leaned back my head slightly to see a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes. "Thank goodness! For a second I thought you were dead!" She put her hand on my chest, feeling my rather slow heartbeat. "You aren't doing too good, though. Gray, we _need_ to find shelter."

". . . Shelter..." I forced my mouth of open and say that one word. I then lifted my heavy and shaky arm, pointing in the direction of the cave. "... A cave... Over there..."

"A cave?" the girl repeated before standing and walking over to where I was pointing. "There _is _a cave over here!"

Good, I still have my connection to this place. There's that. So that must mean I still have my magic, right?

A crack of thunder sounded really close to us, making the girl squeal. The male shifted me into his arms and lifted me up, yelling above the storm, "Go get the others and take them to the cave! We'll be there waiting for Wendy!"

"Okay!"

Then they were off, going in separate directions. The travel was short, but still bouncy due to a slope. He tried to hold on to me without it being painful, but no matter what he tried to do, it still hurt. As soon as we got inside the cave, he laid me down with my back against the wall so I could sit up. The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes again was my stomach. My Fairy Tail mark, which was on the right side of my stomach, wasn't there anymore. It could have come off as I was dying; my brother died mere seconds after his mark disappeared into nothing. Even though it was logical and probably what happened, it was still sad.

I then looked at the man who was still trying to temporarily patch me up. He looked pretty tattered himself, which told me he and the others with him were on a job. He had no shirt on, so his toned muscles were completely exposed. His navy blue guild mark was on his right pectoral muscle, telling me that I was right about them being from Fairy Tail. My eyes widened when I saw a long, bloody gash on his stomach. It wouldn't leave a scar if healed properly, but it was still bad. "...hurt." I tried to say 'You're hurt', but my voice didn't work properly. When he seemed confused, I reached out and glided my hand along the gash.

He looked at it, then did something that surprised and confused me. He laughed. "Here you are at the verge of death. You would have probably died if I didn't see you. And you're worried about some scrape?" He shook his head with a chuckle before sitting back. "That's definitely different."

I forced myself to nod at him in agreement.

He chuckled again before smiling at me. "I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster. Who are you?"

"...tori..." My voice, being stupid again, only mustered the Tori of Victoria. It was close, though, so I didn't try to correct myself.

"Nice to meet you, Tori." he replied with a greeting nod.

At that moment, three other people came running up, tattered and wet. The girl from before came after them, obviously breathless. "You... Could've... Slowed down.. Y'know."

"My apologies, Lucy," a woman with scarlet hair said to her friend, obviously holding a lot of energy in her. "But when you said someone was hurt, we couldn't afford to slow down.

"Whoa!" A boy with messy pink hair came running over to me, sitting down rather close to me and shoving his face into mine. "You ARE beat up! What'd you fight, the Army?"

He was yanked on the ear by the girl called Lucy. "Geez, Natsu! There's something called personal space, y'know!"

A young child with blue hair came on my other side and sat on her knees. "I don't know if I can heal your wounds completely, but I can close them. Just hold still for a moment." She held her hands over me and produced a sky blue light. The ice was removed and my wounds began to close. The pain went away as well, and I felt my strength return. The light went away to reveal closed wounds and slightly cleaner skin. "There. Is that better?" she asked me, her voice soft and filled with uncertainty.

I smiled gently. "It's much better. Thank you so much." I noticed my voice wasn't broken or weak anymore, as did Gray and Lucy. I felt so much better! I stretched my arms into the air, feeling and hearing a lot of bones popping. Everyone else did, too, and they laughed because of it.

"Man, I want my bones to pop like that!" the pink haired boy exclaimed with a toothy grin. "It sounded awesome!"

"It sounded like it hurt," Lucy disagreed, rubbing her arms. "Like she's been asleep for years."

She couldn't have said something else? She had to say the exact truth? I sighed and leaned back on the wall, now stretching out my legs and making more popping. "It sure felt like it. I haven't been this tense in ages." I then looked at them all one by one. "What brings you out here, anyway? Did you get lost?"

Lucy's gaze moved to look at a blue cat sitting by her, her expression turning to a glare. "We weren't lost until _this one _took us on the wrong path."

The cat jumped up on his hind legs like a human and flailed his front legs - or arms? - around. "I told you not to blame me!" he squealed with a squeaky voice. "It was the rain's fault!"

"Don't go blaming the weather, stupid cat!" she yelled, hitting him square on the head.

I looked away from those two as they bickered. A talking cat. Huh. That was new. I turned to the red-head, coming up with questions that didn't make me sound like a former Fairy Tail member. "Where were you coming from?" I asked her.

"A different part of the forest," she replied calmly and simply, as if the argument in front of her wasn't taking place. "We had a job we had to do out here."

I tilted my head to the side. "Job? What job would be out here?"

"We had to take care of a Vulcan infestation near someone's old home," the pink-head piped in. "It was great! There were more than twenty of 'em!"

I gave a smile to the fiery boy beside me. He had real excitement coming from him. A true Fairy Tail burn. "Sounds like a job for guild mages to handle."

"We are from a guild!" he said to me with a bright grin. "You've heard of Fairy Tail, right?" When I didn't respond, he continued talking. "It's the guild that's been named number one in Fiore. We're over in the city of Magnolia, if you know where that is." He then put his thumb on his chest, pointing to himself that way. "I'm Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel."

Hold on. Fairy Tail is the number one guild in Fiore? Magnolia is still alive, yet alone an entire city? There's a different Dragon Slayer in the guild? That's all too amazing to be true! I was stunned for a moment before I smiled brightly at him. "Nice to meet you, Natsu. I'm Victoria Natrux, the Earth Dragon Slayer. Call me Tori."

Natsu's mood went from prideful to excited, and the blue-haired child appeared to be very happy as well. "You're a Dragon Slayer, too?!" he exclaimed.

"That's so cool! An Earth Dragon!" the little girl exclaimed. "I'm a Sky Dragon Slayer! I'm Wendy Marvel!" She then bowed slightly, trying to be polite. "It's very nice to meet you, Tori-san."

I gave her a kind smile and gave a bow of my head in return. "Pleasure's all mine, Wendy." I looked at the red-head again, giving a smirk. "Don't tell me. Let me guess... Swordsman?"

"In a way, yes," she replied. "Erza Scarlet. Re-Quip magic is what I specialize with."

I smiled politely at her before looking over at Lucy, who had finally decided to join the conversation. I didn't even have to guess her magic; her keys were as bright as day. "You're a Celestial Spirit user."

She nodded proudly. "Yep! That's me: Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail's only Celestial mage!"

"I had a friend that used that kind of magic," I said, pointing to the Maiden's key. "She had Virgo."

Lucy brightened up. "Cool! Did she treat her well?"

I nodded. "Yes. Very well."

Natsu butted in on the conversation, sounding very eager to know the answer to his question. "Hey! The dragon that taught you your magic - did he or she disappear on July 7, 777?"

Me being me - a fantastic improviser - I came up with a story on the spot. "I don't know, to be honest."

Gray, who was silent all this time, tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean you don't know?"

I faked a rather convincing sorrowful look. "Actually, I can't remember at all. I can't remember anything from my childhood."

Wendy's eyes widened. "Amnesia?"

I shrugged. "Most likely." This story couldn't have been father from the truth. I hated lying to Fairy Tail members, but I didn't want anyone to know I was from the very beginning of Fairy Tail. I didn't learn my magic from a dragon, but from a master Dragon Slayer who learned from a dragon. Complicated, yes. But he was a great teacher and a fantastic father. And since he was human, he taught me many more things that only humans could do. His name was Letralux - well, that was his last name. I could never remember or pronounce his first name. I missed him, but I learned to get on without him looking over my shoulder.

There was an uneasy silence in the cave now that everyone knew that I had 'amnesia'. It made me uncomfortable until that blue cat screeched. Everyone looked at him to see him running around screaming... With a crab clutching his tail. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" he repeated over and over until Natsu grabbed the crab and removed it from the cat's tail. He sighed with relief, rubbing where the crab pinched him. "Thanks, Natsu."

"Geez, how did you manage that?" a second cat said with a displeased tone. This one was white and female, wearing a dress. By the way she was standing by Wendy, she must have belonged to her. "Be more careful!"

I looked at the two cats with a smile. "I don't believe I got the cats' names."

The blue one looked at me with a cute little grin. "I'm Happy! I'm Natsu's best friend!"

The white one looked at me for a moment before letting out a scoff. "Carla." she stated simply.

I smiled at the both of them. They just seemed so cute for some reason! I've always had a weakness to cats and cute things. Both of them were mixed together in the form of talking cats. I would have said something, but sudden pain in my chest made me wince and clutch at my very torn shirt. Everyone reacted, ready to do something if I was reacting badly to something, but after a moment I relaxed again. "Sorry. I guess I'm still kind of weak from before."

Erza suddenly stood up, as if she was a commander or something. "We should all get some rest. When the storm clears, it will probably be night." She walked over to the stream all of the crabs were at and roughly stepped on one. "Natsu, can you cook these crabs up for us?"

"Sure thing!" Natsu jumped up and ran with a happy Happy over to the stream to start collecting food.

"You might have to be a torch, too," she said to him before walking back over to the rest of us. "We won't have firewood tonight."

Is this an opportunity I smell? I hope I still have working magic. I focused on a spot in the center of our little circle and thought about a plant I remembered Letralux teaching me about. Sure enough, the cave floor opened and up came three large flower pods. Everyone was confused for a second before I smirked. "Who needs firewood when you have me around?" With a snap of my fingers, the pods opened to reveal three beautifully large flowers letting off an amazing glow. The pale light filled the whole cave, and they let off a slight heat.

"Whoa!"  
>"So pretty!"<br>"How'd you do that?"  
>"Awesome!"<p>

Everyone made their flabbergasted exclamations towards the flowers, fat grins on their faces. I had a grin of my own going on. Not only was I happy to see people taking an interest in my flowers, but I did indeed have my magic. Even after all this time, I still had it. That, alone made me relieved.

Natsu handed each of us our own crabs that he cooked himself, and without another word, we all stuffed ourselves. It was only at that moment that I realized how hungry I was. Well, why wouldn't I be? It's been years since my last meal! When Wendy gave out a large yawn after she finished eating, I waved my hand and created beds out of large amounts of leaves and soft grass. Huh. I wanted to add vines into the mix so the beds would have support. I guess I still couldn't use a little bit of my magic.

As we all laid down in our 'beds' and I closed the flowers until only a dim glow remained, I found it difficult to lay down without my back sending off a lot of pain. Before anyone could move to help me, Gray stood up and came over. He found a knot in my back and pushed, cracking my back loudly and releasing me from my pain. I gave him a smile of thanks and settled down in my pallet of leaves.

Just as Gray sat back down on his pallet, he looked at me and asked, "Hey Tori, how did you get so hurt anyway?"

My entire mood changed. A dark, sorrowful shadow loomed over me, and my eyes became hollow. Everyone could sense the pain and guilt so clearly that they all moved to look at me with worry or confusion. I then replied to him, my voice dull and pain-filled. "I couldn't protect my friends from harm. I suffered the consequences." With that, I rolled over and said no more.


	3. Chapter 2

As soon as I woke up from a rather lovely night's sleep, it was decided that I was to go with the others back to Magnolia. I made it seem like I was unsure about joining the guild, but I already knew I was going to join again. Fairy Tail was my home back then, so why shouldn't it be now?

I remembered the direction Magnolia was in, and at times I ended up at the front as if I was leading them there. I was just so eager to get back, it was killing me! Especially since we were moving rather slowly.

"Lucy," Natsu turned around to look at the blonde. "Can you _please _get out of there and start walking? We're going too slow."

Lucy, who was inside of a walking clock, moved her mouth to signal us that she was talking. But instead of her voice reaching our ears, the clock spoke for her. "'No. It's too muddy out there. I worked hard not to get dirty all this time, and I won't let that hard work die in vain' she says."

I let out a little laugh. "A little mud never hurt anyone."

"A little mud?" Gray walked closer to me and glided his finger on my arm, fresh brown coming off and revealing dried mud and crusty blood underneath. "It looks like you swam in it."

"You do look pretty indecent," Erza agreed, looking at me as she thought about something. "Your clothes are ruined, too. Maybe Lucy should take you shopping and to get you cleaned up."

Lucy, suddenly standing beside me, linked her arm with mine. "That sounds fun! You up for it, Tori?"

It would be nice to take a bath. I looked down at my tattered clothing, the cloth torn and slashed at. I shrugged and gave a nod. "Sure. Why not?"

Lucy flashed me a grin before glaring at the blue cat flying in front of us. "All we have to do is make sure we don't get even more lost."

"Don't worry, Lucy!" Happy replied before returning to his concentrated state.

We walked for a while before Happy turned where it wasn't necessary. While everyone else began following him, I stopped and looked in between two trees, catching a hint of carved stone, concrete, tuned wood, and metal in the breeze. When I looked in the distance, I could see the rooftops of city buildings. Happy was leading them in the wrong direction.

"Tori?" I turned around to see Gray standing there, waiting for me. "Is something wrong?"

I gave him a smirk before pointing at the buildings. "Isn't that where we're headed?"

Gray walked over to look, chuckling before walking back to the path the others went down. "Oi! You're going the wrong way!"

"I TOLD YOU!" Lucy's voice screeched from a little ways away, probably directing her voice to Happy. It made me laugh a bit, hearing that outburst.

Gray walked back over to me, a concerned look on his face. "Feeling better? You aren't in pain, are you?"

I shook my head, a smile on my face. "A little stiff around my neck, but other than that I'm fine." I looked at his torso to see that the gash from the night before was barely noticeable now. Just a scratch. "I see Wendy helped you."

Gray looked down at the mark I was talking about and nodded. "Yeah. She's gotten a lot better with her magic. It used to be hard for her to heal us."

"She's young," I said simply, remembering my life at her age. It was a struggle for me, too. "She'll unlock all of her potential as she grows older."

As soon as the others joined us, we began our walk towards the city. As we grew closer, my excitement strengthened. Home. I wondered how much it had changed. I had no idea how much time had gone by, and frankly, I was scared to know. These people were new to me, but what if I met someone I knew from back then? Would they remember me? And if they did, what would happen with my new friends? I knew they would be creeped out.

"We're here!"

With Lucy's voice breaking me away from my thoughts, my eyes widened with awe at the sight in front of me. This city was huge! I had a hard time registering that this was my hometown! "This... is Magnolia?" I asked, astonishment in my voice.

Everyone gave me their own little smiles. "You act as though you haven't been in a city before." Gray said with a smirk.

"Of course I've been in a city," I defended before looking back at the busy town in front of me. "Just not one this big."

Lucy then began pushing me forward. "Then we might want to hurry and get our little errand done before you decide to get lost!" As she walked with me, she turned around and said to the others, "We'll meet up at the guild!"

It was crazy in the town, so it was easy for us to blend into the crowd and get to Lucy's home. I didn't get a good look at the place, for I was shoved into her bathroom as soon as we got there. There were two people waiting for me when I was done bathing - a man and crab mix, and a maid. I immediately recognized Virgo due to her level of magic, even though her face was different. I think she remembered me, for she said my full name instead of my new nickname. The other man was new to me, but since he was a crab, I assumed it was the Cancer spirit.

Cancer cut my hair and styled it for me, even though I insisted that he didn't have to. It reached my waist instead of my thighs now, and he gave it some cute curls. Curly brown hair always looked good on me, in my opinion. Virgo was in charge of giving me some new clothes. I ended up in a black bikini top, a long orange skirt that reached my calves, and an orange vest that stretched down to my ankles. Yellow V-patterned stripes ran down that vest. For my feet, brown boot-like sandals that criss-crossed up to my knees. Kind of like ballet shoes, but brown, leather, and open-toed. A yellow piece of cloth wrapped around my right wrist for decorative purposes. The ensemble was something I would normally wear back in my time, except it was flashier and exposed my rather large bust more. To be honest, I wasn't very comfortable with flashing myself like that, but Virgo insisted.

Lucy, who had stepped outside to talk to her landlord, came back inside and squealed with delight. "Tori, you look so pretty!" she said happily, her eyes sparkling.

I gave a shy smile, my face heating up when I looked at my exposed torso in the mirror. "Isn't this rather... Revealing?"

"Who cares!" she replied, still joyful. "What matters is that you look beautiful, and that it's comfortable! It is comfortable, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, extremely so."

Lucy gave a smile of satisfaction. "Good." She then grabbed my wrist and began pulling me out into the world again. "Come on, or we'll never get to the guild!"

It was rather easy to spot Fairy Tail, even from far away. The building was still the same design as before, only bigger and flashier. This told me Mavis and the others won the battle in the end. I fought a grin, only letting a small smile show so Lucy wouldn't wonder what I was thinking about. Mavis did live after all. I wonder who else survived...

The walk to the hall was an entertaining one. Lucy was very talkative, telling me all about her adventures with her team. It didn't shock me that the guild was still as lively as ever, but I was rather surprised by all of the excitement around Fiore. Demon threats, a rival guild beginning a war, even a trip to another world entirely. I definitely missed out on a lot of fun. Then again, I would normally be dead if it wasn't for Fairy Sphere.

As we walked up to the front doors, my heart suddenly began to pump. Lucy could tell I was nervous, for she gave a little laugh. "Don't be nervous, Tori! We're all like a family. I bet everyone will welcome you with open arms!"

That wasn't really what I was nervous about, but I decided to humor Lucy and give her a smile."I hope so." I said simply before following her inside.

The building was definitely larger and different, but the energy and excitement was exactly the same. People were shouting and laughing all over the place. People crowded the bar, trying to get their mugs refilled. I easily spotted my friends in the crowd; Erza was sitting on a bar stool next to a girl who was drinking her own barrel of beer. Wendy was at a table with Happy, Carla, and a third black cat.

And Natsu and Gray - along with half of the guild's men - were in a giant brawl. Yep, this is definitely Fairy Tail.

Lucy sighed sadly, a sweat drop strolling down her forehead. "So much for a warm welcome." She looked over at the bar. "Well, no wonder it's still going. The Master's drunken himself asleep again."

I followed her gaze to see an incredibly short man sprawled out on the floor. He didn't seem drunk to me, but if Lucy was used to it, then it was probably true. I didn't recognize him at all, and his magic power was a new to me. He was the master now? How man years was I out? I sighed and looked at the fighting men. "No one's going to stop them?"

"Not unless the Master wakes up."

I gave a smirk and held out my hand. Why not exercise my magic a bit? I needed it. My hand began to glow a bright green, and after a moment I quickly lifted my hand high into the air. Right in the heart of the brawl, a pillar of leaves came flying out of the ground, breaking the fight up immediately. Odd. I wanted vines instead of leaves. Well, I had been asleep for many, many years. Of course I would be rusty, right? It still made me a little annoyed, since my vines were my favorite form of the magic I learned how to master.

As Lucy stood there flabbergasted, I gave a smile and said with a playful tone, "Now, when I heard I was joining a mages' guild, I didn't know that you all would be this rowdy upon my arrival. Is this really my welcoming party?"

Immediately, Gray and Natsu sat up from where they were laying on the floor, bright grins on their faces. "Tori!" they exclaimed joyously, both of them running over to where I stood by the door.

"Tori-san! You made it!" Wendy quickly joined us and greeted me with a happy hug. She then realized she hugged me and quickly backed up slightly, as if it wasn't like her to gree people she liked that way.

Erza came up not long after, a kind smile on her face. "I see you managed to find new clothes. Orange looks good on you."

I gave a shy smile, fiddling with the long orange vest I had on. "I'm glad it does. It's _really _comfortable." I turned to the two boys in front of me, who were still glaring each other down. "I'm assuming that fire and ice don't mix in human form either."

Lucy groaned rather loudly. "You have no idea how often these two fight. It gets annoying after a while."

"I've dealt with fully grown men going at each other," I replied. "I can handle a couple of little boys." My eyes then landed on two girls being blocked by Natsu and Gray, obviously wanting to come talk to us. I placed my hands on the boys' chests and separated them rather harshly, allowing the girls to move forward.

The taller one with long white hair gave me a grateful smile. "Thank you. I suppose they didn't hear me when I asked them to move. You're Tori, right?"

I nodded. So, word about me has gotten around already, huh?

The two girls' smiles grew brighter. "Erza told us about you. It's nice to meet you! I'm Mirajane, and this is Lisanna."

I would have replied, but I ended up feeling an arm move around my shoulders as Natsu pulled me into a side hug, wanting to join in on the conversation. "Did Erza tell you about her magic, Mira? Tori's an Earth Dragon Slayer! That's the fourth Dragon Slayer so far!"

While Mirajane seemed oblivious to my discomfort towards Natsu's hug, Lisanna caught on. "Natsu, don't hug Tori like that," she said calmly as she gently pushed him back. "Don't forget about personal space."

Natsu gave a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh yeah! Keep forgetting she isn't used to us yet!"

"Idiot." I heard Gray mutter behind me sourly.

"So Tori," Mirajane spoke again, gaining my attention once more. "You mentioned something about a welcoming party earlier. Are you wanting to join us?"

If I wasn't good with handling my emotions, I would have said something like 'Duh! Why wouldn't I?' or something along those lines. However, I kept in mind that I was supposed to be new to the magic guilds, so instead I replied, "Sure. It sounds like it could be fun."

Everyone around me practically jumped for joy - Lucy and Wendy actually did - before Mirajane grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the rest of the large guild. "Hey everyone! This is Tori! As of today, she is our newest member!" Again, a lot of excitement erupted. Only this time, it was an uproar of cheering, whistling, and loud calls of happiness. It filled me with warmth when everyone greeted me this way. Only true Fairy Tail members would greet a stranger as if they were already family.

The pretty white-haired girl led me over to the bar and grabbed a stamper. "What color do you want your mark to be and where do you want it?"

I pointed to the exact spot my old mark was at: the right side of my stomach. "I'd like it right there, and in dark green." As she placed a stamp, I decided to try and get an answer to the one question that remained in my mind. "Hey Mirajane. This guild is rather large and well-known. How long has it been this way?"

"Well, it was a very well-known guild ever since it was created, due to the excitable people that joined," she replied as she placed the stamper on the bar. "That was... Almost a century ago, I think."


	4. Chapter 3

I stood there motionless, my eyes wide and my breath caught in my throat. No, I must have misheard her. I had to have, right? I mean, I heard her say _almost a century _ago. That would mean I slept for a hundred years. A hundred years of almost dying. A hundred years of being in pain.

Mirajane looked at me with a confused look, seeing my change of mood. "Tori? What's wrong?"

I forced myself to relax, giving her a reassuring smile. "Nothing. It's just surprising to hear that this guild has lasted for a hundred years."

She gave a sweet smile, going behind the bar to wash some mugs. "It's definitely something we're happy about. I bet the first generation would be proud."

I gave a little nod and a warm smile. "Yes. I bet they would be." I knew that if Mavis was here, she would be jumping with joy in her heart. It made me wonder how everyone managed to save the guild. All of the others must have gone back to help Mavis fight. At least, I hope they did. I remembered my old friend telling me that only one monster remained. If everyone went back, then it should have been easy to kill. The repairs must have been rather simple, too. How many people were bedridden that day? And how long did Mavis survive afterwards?

"Oi." I spun around to see Gray standing there. The expression on his face was unreadable. "Erza bought a cake. She wanted to know if you wanted a piece."

I shook my head. "No thanks. I'm fine for right now."

He lifted an eyebrow and walked closer so he could stand next to me. "Hey, you okay? You've been in a daze since we got to town."

I looked up at him and gave him a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "Just a bit tired."

"Try again."

Boy, even in this generation Fairy Tail members can tell if something's up. I sighed reluctantly, having no other choice but to talk. "I'm just thinking about my friends. They would have loved to see this place."

Gray hesitated for a moment before asking, "What exactly happened to you and your friends?" When I gave an accidental glare, he quickly added, "You don't have to tell me if it hurts too much. I was just wondering."

"No, it's fine. I may as well say it to someone." I sat down on one of the bar stools, gesturing for him to sit on the one beside me. "My friends and I were threatened our lives. Either we hand over something valuable to all of us, or we would die. We decided to fight back instead, which I realize now was a mistake. We were completely overpowered." The memory of the fight made me cringe. "Everyone is gone now. I'm the last one out of the group. If it wasn't for my best friend, I would have died long before you found me." The experience of the battle all that time ago came flashing before me. "You're lucky you didn't see it."

I felt a hand lay on my shoulder, and when I looked to see who it was, I was rather surprised to see it was Gray trying to make an effort to comfort me. A small one, but it was still an effort. Despite him being an Ice mage, his hand was rather warm. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that bad."

I gave a small smile. "It's okay. It's nice for someone to know. Besides," I turned to look at the rest of the guild; everyone was laughing, grinning, drinking or eating Erza's cake, and having a good time. "I bet everyone here has lost something dear to them at some point in time."

Gray nodded, also looking at the guild. "Yeah. But we don't like to dwell on the past."

I gave a soft little laugh. Mavis said the same thing to me when she introduced me to the people she found long ago. "I guess it's a Fairy Tail thing, huh?" I whispered to myself.

"Huh?" He looked at me with a confused expression on his face. "Did you say something?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Nothing at all." I jumped off of the stool I was on and gave Gray a bright smile. "You said Erza had a piece of cake for me?"

Gray gave off his own, shockingly handsome grin before standing up. "Well, she _did_. She might've taken it by now, though." he teased.

"Oh, she better not have!" We both went running over to where Erza stood, two slices of untouched cake still remaining. "Oh good. You didn't eat it all."

Erza shook her head, not even caring that I accidentally called her a pig. "I wasn't sure if you and Gray wanted some, so I just left it."

"Thanks!" I said with a happy smile as I grabbed my piece, taking a slightly large bite out of it.

"You must be Tori!" The short man Lucy called the Master spoke with much enthusiasm, standing on the table so I could see him. Just like the blonde girl had said earlier, he was definitely drunk. But based off of how alert his eyes were at the moment, he was probably a lot better at handling alcohol than the average human. "Erza and Lucy have been telling me a lot about you! I'm Makarov, Fairy Tail's master!"

I gave a nod of my head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Makarov," I couldn't help but feel distaste in me when I called him Master. I was so used to people giving Mavis that title.

"Let me ask you a question," he spoke again, a gleam of curiosity in his eye. "Do fairies have tails?"

I froze. That's what Mavis asked me when I met her. I fought a chuckle as I replied, "We won't know unless one is caught."

I could see the gleam of curiosity spark even more, but I could also see confusion and even caution lingering there as well. "How can we catch one?" Again, he asked a question Mavis asked me.

"We can't."

"We can't? How come?"

"Because the spirit of a fairy can never be trapped. It always roams free. And if the spirit runs free, then-"

"-then the shell of the soul will roam as well." He smiled at me, the smile genuine and true. "You recited the Unknown Mage Queen's first words."

Unknown Mage Queen? Is that what they called me? I quickly came up with a response, and I shrugged at him. "I just read that on someone's notebook. I didn't know it was something someone said."

Makarov nodded. "Oh yes, someone indeed said that. Long ago, the first master, Mavis Vermilion, asked that question to the first person she met in a new town. They had that short conversation, then they became the greatest and strongest of friends in all of the newly created Fairy Tail guild. Her name has been lost through the years, but Mavis made sure to keep the name Mage Queen going through time."

I smiled a small smile, warmth spreading through me. "I bet the Mage Queen was lucky to have a friend like Master Mavis."

He nodded. "All of Fairy Tail has a bond. But only few have bonds as strong as those two." He then gave a large, goofy grin. "Try to find a friend and make a giant bond with them! It makes life worth while!"

I looked at him for a moment before grinning myself. "Okay!" I said enthusiastically before joining Gray, Erza, Natsu, and Lucy. _ You've taught the guild so much, _I thought. _Good job, Mavis._

_~~~~_

Three days have passed since I joined Fairy Tail for the second time. Even though it's only been a short few days, I've felt as if I've spent weeks learning about the land. I've gone on many jobs, all of them in a different city than the one before it. Fiore is so vast now! So many different guilds exist, and they all reside in completely different cities. Every job I do, I learn a little more about the history of the province and everything that has taken place in my absence.

Not only have I learned history, but I've grown to love the new Fairy Tail. I was invited to join Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza on various missions before actually joining their team. They're an enjoyable bunch, even if they argue a lot. All of them are rather strong in their own ways, be it power, knowledge, speed, durability, or dedication. But all of them have potential, and they all hold a strong, unbreakable bond with each other.

We all wanted to do a job that would give us all good pay, but since Lucy took a long time to even leave her house, we ended up getting to our destination by nightfall. We decided to stop at a hotel for the night, since we were all enjoying the peace the area brought us. The hotel wasn't a perfect one, but it was better than sleeping out in the forest like Natsu and Happy wanted to do. Due to how small the hotel was, we all had to share a room together, which greatly displeased Lucy. I found it strange, how someone in Fairy Tail wasn't comfortable with sleeping in the same room as her team. She said that it wasn't the people she cared about; she just hated Natsu's snoring and Gray's little disrobing problem.

I sat on the windowsill with a book about the Nirvana incident many years ago, using the moonlight as a lamp. There wasn't an extra light in the room given to us, and the only working light gave me a headache with the droaning noises it made. Everyone was either downstairs eating or taking a bath in the public hot springs. I had nothing else to do but read, since I ate and bathed a long while ago to get away from the chaos Natsu and Gray were causing.

I looked up quickly when I saw something crash into the window out of the corner of my eye. What I saw was another pair of eyes. I let out a small gasp of surprise, while the holder of the other eyes let out a cry before falling off the window and into the mud below. The yell was kind of... Squeaky. Kind of like Happy's. I opened the window and jumped out, landing easily on the ground below. I looked through the mud for a moment before finding the creature that fell.

Just as I thought. It was a cat. It was hard to see him in the mud, mainly because he had brown fur. He seemed pretty beat up, his fur mangled and his skin showing in places. He lifted his head up to lay his big brown eyes on me. Immediately he let out another scared squeak, burying himself in the mud. "Please! Please don't hurt Buddy!" he pleaded pitifully. "Buddy just wanted to run away from the bad cats! He didn't mean to run into a window!"

I looked at him for a moment. He must talk in third person, since he was the the one that ran into the window instead of someone else. He was actually pretty adorable with his speech and tiny voice. I smiled and walked over to him. He cowered more as if I was going to hurt him, but I just bent down and laid my hand on his head. "Don't worry, Buddy. I won't hurt you."

He looked at me with surprise before relaxation filed his face, allowing me to pet him. "That feels good~" he purred, an adorable smile forming on his face.

I laughed a little when I felt his delight. "You're all dirty. What happened?"

"The bad cats claimed territory," he said. "Buddy didn't know, and he walked into the alley. The bad cats beat him up, then he flew off." He grabbed at my arm, tiny tears forming in his eyes. "It was scary, and it hurt."

Bad cats? Does he mean more cats like him? It didn't really matter to me. I looked up at the open window, feeling the heat from inside fly out. I looked at Buddy and got on my knees next to him, lowering my head to his level. "It's cold out here. You want to come inside and get clean?"

Buddy's entire being lit up with happiness, and a fat grin formed on his face. "Okay~!" he squealed joyously, jumping into my arms without hesitation. He's really trusting of strangers, isn't he? You would think his parents would have taught him better.

I was too tired to properly jump onto the roof, so I ended up creating a leaf platform under us to lift us up to the window. I would have just hardened the mud under us, but I couldn't do that due to my magic locking up after my hundred year slumber. I figured that out during the three days I've been in Fairy Tail; apparently, if a mage doesn't use their magic for an extremely long period of time, it locks up and you are unable to use it. That meant that I had to train my body and abilities again until the 'barriers' were broken.

Even though the bathroom itself was small, the sink was decent enough to use as a bathtub for Buddy. He seemed to enjoy it, for he was purring the entire time. He was so much softer and much more relaxed after I dried him off. He even looked healthier than he did when I first found him. Not only that, but he was even more adorable; with is soft fur and cute little grin that showed off his teeth, it seemed like a crime in itself to even raise a hand to him. Whoever harmed him that way - cat or no - was probably the coldest living thing in Fiore, maybe even in all of Earthland. In my opinion, anyway.

By the time the door opened to signal someone was finally returning, Buddy was completely passed out asleep in my lap. I looked up from my book to see Gray walking in with a towel on his shoulders. When he looked at me, he seemed almost confused. "Weren't you going to go hang out with everyone else?"

I gave him my own confused look. "What are they doing? Weren't they going to come back here after they were done eating?"

"I thought they did," he replied as he sat down on one of the beds. "They were all playing table tennis when I last saw them." He then saw Buddy, who had shifted in his sleep. "Who's your furry little friend?"

"Buddy," I looked down at the sleeping cat in my lap, lowering my voice to a whisper just in case he was to be disturbed. "I found him in the mud outside after he ran into the window. He was running from some people that were giving him a hard time."

Gray came over to the window to get a better look at the brown bundle of fur. He chuckled when Buddy moved to cuddle closer to me. "Lookit that. He likes you." He then rested his gaze on me. "You thinking of keeping him?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. It would be interesting to have a cat of my own. He might want to leave in the morning, though."

"Just caring for him tonight, huh?"

"Yep."

It was silent for a moment before I decided to look at Gray. By the expression on his face, I knew he wanted to ask me something. He always used this specific face when he had something on his mind that had to do with me. However, I couldn't ask what was up before he asked his question. "Are you feeling any better? I mean, since four days ago, when you... uh..."

"Lost my friends?" I finished his question, my voice slightly hollow. "I'm managing. Besides," I winked at him and smirked. "I don't like to dwell on the past."

He grinned, recognizing the words he told me on my first day. "It's good to not linger on things you can't change." His smile faded again. "But is it that easy? I mean... Only four days have gone by. Are you really no longer in pain after that short amount of time? It's almost as if friends are disposable to you-"

"Gray," I stared at him, my eyes hard. "I would never throw away friends like them. They meant the world to me. They would be sad if I mourned over them, though." I looked out the window, staring up at the large, beautiful moon scaling the starry night sky. "I know they aren't really gone. They go where I go. They see the things I see. Knowing this, it's easier to go on." I looked back at Gray, who was staring at me with a light in his eyes. I couldn't tell what that light held; so many different emotions dwelled there, mixing together. I smiled at him. "And with friends like you and the others, I don't really have to feel sadness. You're there for me, and you won't like seeing me upset."

Gray looked at me for a long moment before sharing a small yet meaningful smile. He's never smiled like that before. I would remember seeing one like that on his face. "You're right. Seeing you sad would make us upset. But know that if you have to show weakness, we'll be there to comfort you."

I nodded. "I'll remember that."

At that moment, a tiny yawn came from the mouth of the sleeping Buddy. He opened his eyes and stared up at Gray. I could feel him tense up, and I could immediately tell he wasn't sure if he should be scared of Gray or welcome him. "Are you Rii's friend?" he finally asked, referring to me as Rii since he thought it was easier.

Gray placed his hand on Buddy's head in a friendly and comforting way. "Yep. I'm Tori's friend." No explanation on the Rii thing, huh? He's quick.

Buddy immediately relaxed and welcomed Gray's hand. "Yay! Buddy gets to meet one of Rii's friends!" He looked at me with a fat grin on on his face. "Are all of Rii's friends nice like this one?"

I wrapped my arms around Buddy and pulled him into a hug, grinning when he squeaked with delight. "Yep! All my friends are nice people. You'll like them!"

"Okay~!" he replied just before he gave a wide, long yawn.

I stood up, still holding Buddy, and laid down on my bed. "Still tired, huh?" I asked him, pulling the covers over the both of us. "This is much more comfortable than the windowsill."

Buddy cuddled up beside me, one paw on the blanket, the other gripping my night shirt. "Uh-huh." he said with a slightly slurred voice just before falling asleep.

Gray jumped into his own bed, smiling at me. "I hope you keep him. He's too adorable to get rid of."

I smiled in agreement before relaxing myself. "Don't wake me up early." I told him with a serious tone.

I got a chuckle as a reply, then it went silent. For a long while it was warm, dark, and soothingly quiet. My eyes grew heavy, and I felt sleep begin to take me...

"I TOLD you I would win all the games!"

"Shut up, Natsu! You only won that last one because Happy came and got in the way!"

"If I didn't get in the way, you would've won, and Natsu would've thrown a tantrum!"

"Shut up, Happy! I do NOT throw tantrums!"

"I thought it was a rather enjoyable night."

"How can you say that, Erza?! You broke the table!"

"Aye!"

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP!?"

"Ohh, looks like we all woke up the Ice Princess! Sorry, Your Majesty! Would you like your royal stripping privacy?"

"Natsu, I swear to God, if you say one more word I will murder you with this pillow."

"OOH! Another pilllow-fight? It'll be like last time!

"Happy! I don't WANT it to be like last time!"

"Aww! But Lucy-"

"NO!"

_I can't sleep._


	5. Chapter 4

"So..." Natsu stared at me as I clutched an excited Buddy in my arms, a dull look on his face. "Tell me again how to ended up finding an exceed in the middle of the night?"

"He ran into the window," Gray responded for me, rubbing his head in a way that people with headaches always did. "He's sticking with us until we can find out where he lives."

I looked at him, feeling the irritation flying off of him like waves. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Just tired is all." He glared at the pyro walking beside Lucy. "If it weren't for the hothead and his obnoxious yelling, I would be feeling much better."

Natsu spun around and yelled, "It wasn't just me! Lucy and Happy were yelling, too!"

"But we stopped after Gray almost froze the room solid!" Lucy protested.

"Aye!"

I pressed my thumb to my temple, trying to rid myself of my own headache. "Even now, after what I did to you all last night, you're still yelling?" I hissed at them. After they wouldn't stop yelling, I did some rather mean things that always set everyone straight back in the day. Even with my magic being blocked up like it was, it still worked. What exactly I did, though, I'll leave to your imagination.

Erza's hands clutched together into fists. "I'm truly sorry, Tori. I completely forgot about your sensitive ears. I should not have allowed them to keep being obnoxious for so long. If you would like to vent your anger, you may hit me with full force."

"That isn't a good thing to offer, Erza!" Lucy said rather quietly, obviously fearing me now.

I simply shook my head at Erza. "It's not you I'm angry at. It's the fiery lizard that I want to tie up right now."

Gray looked at me with hopeful eyes. "Can you? Please?"

Natsu jumped behind the only official S-Class mage on the team, assuming I would actually hunt him down. "Don't hurt me, Tori! I promise I'll be quiet for the rest of the time!"

Buddy looked at me with his big, watery eyes of his. "Rii won't hurt the pink boy, right?"

It was silent for a long while before I heard a squeal of delight. Buddy was pried out of my arms by an overjoyed Lucy, who then hugged him so tightly, I thought his head would pop off. "He's sooooo cute~!" she cooed. "Like a real kitty!"

Happy flew up behind her, trying to mimic Buddy's normal face. "Hey! Am I cute too?"

"No. You're a pervert." she hissed at him before focusing on the brown ball of fur again.

I sighed at her, trying to loosen her grip on my friend. "Lucy, he can't breathe."

As soon as her grip loosened, Buddy leaped out of her arms and jumped into mine. "Her hug hurts," he said, his voice muffled since he spoke into my chest. "Buddy couldn't take it."

Happy flew over to Lucy and tried punching her on the head, not doing a good job since he had small paws and not a lot of strength. "Good job, Lucy! You hurt him!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"Well, you did!"

I felt Buddy tense up in my arms. I looked at him to see him sniffing the air, appearing to be rather upset. He looked off somewhere and his brown eyes widened. "Uh-oh."

"What's wrong, Buddy?" Gray was suddenly beside me, noticing the cat's change of attitude.

Buddy looked at me and moved himself into me a little more. "The bad cats from last night. They're over there." He pointed to an alleyway that was lit up due to it being daytime.

I looked down the alley to see three men kicking something that I couldn't see. Cats? There weren't any cats over there. A little light went off in my head. Buddy refers to himself in third person, so why can't he refer to others as cats?

"There aren't any cats down there, Buddy," Natsu said, completely overlooking the men. "Are you sure your nose isn't just off?"

Buddy shook his head. "He's sure those are the bad cats. He remembers what they smell like."

Natsu now looked deeply confused, scratching the back of his head. "Wha...? Are we lookin' down the same alley?"

Gray scoffed with distaste, rolling his eyes. "Idiot." he growled with clenched teeth before turning back to Buddy. "Are you talking about those three men down there?"

Buddy nodded, burying his face into my chest again. "Uh-huh. They're very bad cats. They hurt the kittens that play outside. They cat-napped a friend of Buddy's a week ago, and when she came back, she was really upset and crying a lot."

"Oi," Gray was suddenly whispering in my ear, probably to keep Buddy from hearing him. "You think those are the people we're looking for?"

I nodded, my eyes hard on the men enjoying kicking at something. "If one of them has a scar on his face, then it looks like we found our targets." The job we took on - the one that we failed to accomplish the day before - was to hunt down and turn in three men that were terrorizing the citizens in the town. The only distinct mark that people could ever remember was a scar on the leader's face, different from anyone else's in the area.

From the job description, it seemed as if they were to be rather large threats. However, I knew Gray didn't believe in that any longer after I heard him scoff. "They don't seem like too much trouble. Why the giant reward for them?"

"Hidden threat, maybe?"

"I don't sense a threat from them at all." He began cracking his knuckles, brimming with confidence. "I bet the two of us could easily take them down."

I chuckled at his enthusiasm and naiveté. "Never underestimate the enemy, Fullbuster. You'll be in for a big surprise if you do."

"Rii?" I looked down at Buddy when I heard him say the nickname he gave me. "Why is the pink boy going over to the bad cats?"

Gray and I looked back at the alleyway to see Natsu walking over to the three men. Is he trying to see if those men are the ones we need? Or is he being stupid? "Natsu!" I hissed, trying not to get anyone else's attention. "What are you doing, you moron? Get back here!"

"Hey there!" Natsu greeted with his usual friendly tone. Yeah, he's an idiot at the worst of times. I've seen him being clever, but that's only when he's fighting. I can see why everyone thinks he's difficult. But when I looked closely at him, I noticed how he was tensed up slightly and how he was bracing himself. He overheard my conversation with Gray, then?

Oh. He just wants to be the first one to fight them. Eager bastard.

The three men turned around, their faces going from evil smirks and wild eyes to deep scowls and narrow glares. They definitely weren't happy with the flaming boy disturbing them. With how they moved to form a "wall", it was obvious they were trying to hide whatever they were kicking. Natsu began talking with them, but I couldn't hear him. Was he speaking extremely quietly? Or was something keeping me from hearing their conversation?

"Can you hear them?" Gray asked me, his voice still a whisper as if the men in the alley would pay attention to us.

I shook my head rather angrily. "No. Something must be blocking my hearing." I watched Natsu as he tried to weasel his way through the men. I looked at the three one by one, gathering every detail about their appearance. "The one in the middle has the scar. That's the guy."

A smirk formed on Gray's face, and I could feel the excitement flowing off of him. His hand rested on Buddy's head, giving him a comforting pat. "Looks like those bad cats won't be scaring you anymore, Buddy."

Buddy looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Really? Buddy and his friends won't be hurt anymore?"

I gave him a little snuggle before lowering him to the ground. "Nope! You and your friends will be safe from now on!" I looked over at Lucy, who was watching Natsu with worried eyes. "Hey Lucy! Can you watch Buddy for me?"

Lucy looked over at me, blinking a couple of times as if she just woke up from a nap. "Uh.. Sure thing!" She came over and scooped him up into her arms, making sure not to squeeze him like last time. "Don't hurt yourself. And _please_ don't go overboard!"

I would have replied, but Gray beat me to it. "You know that's difficult for our team, Lucy," he said humorously. "But I'll be sure not to destroy anything my ice touches."

Lucy gave him a look of doubt. "I wasn't talking to you, Gray. I already know it's impossible for you and Natsu. I just don't want Tori to join in with your crazy destruction."

I smirked at her. "I'll be careful." So I said, but I knew that I was probably as destructive as the boys were. It was how I worked, and not even time can change that. I looked at Buddy and winked happily. "Just you watch. We'll beat them up for sure!"

Buddy's eyes widened with pleasure and a fat grin formed on his face. "Okay~! Good luck Rii! Good luck Guray!"

The both of us smiled at each other before we ran over to where Erza stood just outside of the alley. When she saw us, she turned to face us with that usual calm look on her face. "Since you two are brimming with excitement, I'm assuming these people definitely are the ones we were looking for."

I nodded. "Yeah." I looked at the four people in front of me, realizing that I still couldn't hear them. But I was standing right in front of them. Why couldn't I hear the obviously screaming Dragon Slayer? Come to think of it... "Erza," I looked back at her, confused. "Why are you standing here? Shouldn't you be trying to keep Natsu from exploding on them?"

"Normally I would be," she replied with a sigh. "However, something seems to be blocking my way through. I assume it's those men."

Gray reached out his hand, ripples forming around the area where his hand stopped moving. He scoffed. "Clever bastards. They don't want any more mages getting through."

I stared past Gray and rested my gaze on the people in the alley. Two of them were now moving closer to Natsu, appearing to be very annoyed with him. The third, the one with the scar, stayed back and just watched. I focused hard on him, questions forming in my head. I haven't seen him move at all after my ears refused to hear their words. In fact, he seemed like a statue the entire time. I stared intently at the black sunglasses on his face with understanding rising in me. Only someone that was still and focused could make a barrier that was invisible like this one. Of course it would be the leader that would be doing something as annoying as this.

As the ground below my target's feet began to grow soft, I noticed flashes of orange out of the corner of my eye. Natsu's flames, most likely. It was distracting, but I managed to maintain my focus long enough to achieve my goal. Large piles of dark leaves began lifting him into the air from where he stood, breaking his focus right in half. As I saw something like glass lower and disperse, everything on the other side became heard. Natsu's roaring as he attacked the two fighting men, the sound of his flames, and the sound waves of our enemies' magic. I didn't hesitate to pelt the leader with harsh thorns and branches as Gray, Erza and I ran in. I couldn't even see him anymore I was showering him so much.

We all split; Gray went to join Natsu while Erza went with me towards the main threat and the source of our reward. I decided to take the air attack, raising myself into the air with my large pile of leaves. I admit it, I wasn't enjoying not having all of my magic, especially since I could only create small plants, leaves, and branches, but I made do. I still had a lot of my skills from when I was one of the strongest S-Class mages, and those were all I needed. Hopefully.

As Erza began attacking him with her swords, I stood on the roof of a building to watch and wait for my turn. This girl was vicious! Her attacks just came one after another, never resting a moment. She wasn't using any special armor, just her weapons. I noticed that even though she was quick, her attacks were careless. She was underestimating her enemy, just like I warned Gray not to do. But with how the man wasn't even able to think about attacking her, and how it was such a one-sided fight, I thought that maybe it would be a quick victory.

However, as soon as Erza jumped back to look at the damages, I knew it was a bad idea for her to fight blindly. My eyes widened with shock when I watched him stand up rather easily with a giant, insanity-filled grin on his face. He only had to utter the two words 'Nice try', and I was off. I formed deadly needles on my knuckles as I fell hands-first towards him. Get him which while he was focused on her was my plan, and with the speed I was falling at, I assumed it would work.

Again, I was wrong. I guess I underestimated him, too. I was mere inches from hitting him with a lot of force when it seemed like time stopped. I was suspended in air for what seemed like ages, even though it was mere moments. Excruciating pain filled my entire body, and I was blown back into the air. A shockwave had hit me, the wave radiating from the man. I was shaking with pain and shock, flying limp through the air. My ears were ringing, my skin was trembling, and my eyes were watering. Such sudden power! Something like that would throw anyone off!

When I finally calmed down, I noticed that I wasn't flying back anymore. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was... Floating? I was deeply confused for a moment before looking behind me. My eyes widened, and worry yet glee filled me. "Buddy!"

The little brown fur ball was holding me with his small arms, his wings outstretched and keeping him in the air. He blinked at me with large, worried eyes. "Is Rii okay?" he asked me with concern. "Buddy saw her flying, and he got worried."

I gave him a smile, nodding at him. "I'm fine. Just shaken up is all." I looked at the roof below us, pointing to it. "Can you drop me off there? I should be able to get back to it if I have room to run."

We didn't budge. I looked back up at him to see his face filled with determination. "Uh-uh. Buddy wants to stay with Rii in case she goes flying again."

I shook my head at him. "No, Buddy. You could get hurt."

His grip on me tightened. "Rii, Guray, the pink boy, Rushii, and the red girl are helping Buddy. He should do something to help them fight the bad cats. That way, he can stay with Rii forever."

I tilted my head. "Forever? I thought we were going to take you home like you wanted."

He seemed embarrassed almost. He didn't meet my gaze, as if he did something wrong. "Buddy lied. He has no home. He just wanted to be safe from the bad cats, then he would leave Rii and her friends alone. But Buddy was talking to Rushii while Guray and the pink boy were fighting. He asked her 'Why is everyone fighting so badly? It's scary'. Rushii then said 'If they don't fight like that, the bad ones won't leave people alone'. Buddy asked her 'Why? Aren't they scared?' She said 'Not those two. Even if someone in our group gets scared, we'll fight anyway. We won't let fear keep us from protecting people!'" Buddy looked at me with confidence. "Even though Buddy is scared, he wants to be there for Rii while she fights. That way, he won't have to look for somewhere to stay, and Rii and her friends will let him stay with them!"

I looked at Buddy with soft eyes and a joyous smile. "Of course you can stay with us, Buddy!" I said happily, reaching back to stroke his head. "We'd be happy to have you! _I'd _be happy to have you!"

Buddy gave a cry of delight, rubbing his face in my hair. "Yay! Thanks so much, Rii! Rii's the best!"

I gave a little laugh of delight before grinning at him. "Now, let's go fight some bad cats!"

"Okay~!"

Up in the air we flew, higher and higher into the clouds so we could gain some speed. When the land below almost disappeared from view, Buddy made a quick arch before using some of his wing magic, speeding with intense power towards the alleyways. My body was cloaked with whatever power the little cat held in him, that cloak growing as we sped up even more. I thrusted my arms out in front of me to cut some of the drag pulling at us. Thorns sprouted from my knuckles like before, decorating my fists like spiked gloves. We grew closer and closer to our destination, the explosions and flashes of my friends' magic coming into view. First it was the magic, then the screams and battle cries, and finally the people. My eyes went from Natsu to Lucy - who had joined in at last - then to Gray and Erza fighting side by side. Then finally, our enemies. They were backing into each other, being surrounded by the Fairy Tail members. But they weren't losing; my friends were exhausted, trying hard to even stand. How could they be losing...?

"Buddy!" I yelled above the wind, somehow moving my mouth to form words. "Let me go on the count of three!"

"Okay~!" he replied, his voice slightly slurred due to the speed.

I focused on the small gap in between the three men. I tightened my fists a little bit more, the thorns growing slightly sharper. "One! Two! Three!"

Buddy used all of the strength in his arms to fling me forward. I went as fast as an arrow towards those men, preparing myself for any impact. As I drew closer and closer, one of the men looked around to see where a noise was coming from - probably the noise of the rushing wind around me. When he looked up, his face turned to one of horror. I couldn't hear what he said because of the wind, but whatever it was, it alerted the others. But it was too late for them to do anything about it.

Buddy's voice came to my ears, and a smile formed on my face. "Good luck, Rii!"

I collided with the leader dead on, forcing him into the ground. With the impact, the ground caved, creating a giant crater that stretched all the way to my friends. The thorns on my fists tore through his skin, not enough to kill him, but enough to do a lot of damage. I must have broken a couple of bones too; that speed was ridiculous, even for me. As soon as we stopped moving downward, I propelled my legs out to the sides, my feet colliding with the other two. My sandals pushed roughly at their stomachs, sending them flying towards the walls of the alleyway. I then flipped off of my first target, landing on my feet outside of the crater I made and directly in front of Gray.

The Ice mage stared at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, completely dumbfounded. "Whoa." he gasped, his voice airy and amazed.

I just smiled at him, giving out a little laugh at his behavior. I turned around, narrowing my eyes and piercing my lips together. The man in the crater - the one with the scar - stood up slowly with the angriest expression on his face, his dark eyes locked on me. They burned into me for a moment before two minor explosions came from his feet, propelling him forward with amazing speed. He tried to land a harsh punch on my face, but even with his fancy explosion, I caught his fist and stopped him. I didn't say a single word to him for a moment, my dark brown eyes glaring into him for a moment. I then smirked and said, "So, you use explosion magic, huh? Fancy, but predictable. I bet your head blows up every time someone pisses you off."

The laughter we heard made him even more irritated. Instead of trying to take his hand back, he forced a lot of energy into his fist. I let go just before the small explosion hit, but I was too slow to dodge his other hand. He landed a punch right at my jaw, sending me stumbling back a bit. It actually felt a little good, getting punched; it helped me relax my mouth a bit and get my adrenaline pumping. It did hurt, though, which kind of annoyed me. He had probably hit me with his weak hand, since my jaw didn't dislocate or break. That was something to be relieved about. However, I was too slow at standing back up, and I was a victim to more punches and kicks. For a short-tempered man, he definitely had some strength and speed. His moves soon became predictable, and I blocked almost every single one of his attacks no matter how random they were.

"Hey! Leave Buddy alone!"

I looked to the side to see the other two men moving around. Lucy, who probably yelled that sentence earlier, was trying to push past the bigger one of the two. The other one... Was holding Buddy. The little cat was wailing with fear, trying to wiggle his way out of the lock he was in. "No! Let him go!" I screamed at the two, twisting my body to run towards them. However, I let my guard down completely, and not only was I hit in the knee by a harsh foot, but a hand roughly pushed at my neck and sent me into the ground. I tried to stand up, but a foot met my back and slammed me into the concrete again.

"Stay down," a growl came to my ear, the voice deep and almost demonic. "Stay down or that friend of yours gets hurt."

I clenched my teeth together, wanting to say something but not having the time to. Not only was I told to stay down, but I was forced to. Pain came to me all over as this man kicked and punched at me, making an attempt to severely injure me. My face was buried in the ground, concrete and soil meeting my bruised and cut face. I couldn't even open my eyes anymore. I couldn't move; it hurt too much. To think a mere man could bring so much harm to me. I guess I didn't just underestimate this man, but I underestimated this new time entirely.

"RIIII! RIIIIII!" Buddy's caterwauls pained my heart; they were so sad and terrified. I wanted to shout to him 'Don't worry!', but I couldn't. I couldn't move my body at all. This man wouldn't stop with the kicking, and the pain already inflicted was doing a great deal. "She hasn't moved in a while," Lucy's voice came, cracking as if she was crying. "Tori! Get up!" That was Natsu; his voice was actually desperate and fearful, as if he was afraid I was dying or something. "RII!" Buddy screamed again, but this time he was sobbing. If I wasn't in too much pain, I would be crying, too.

"Quit struggling, you mangy cat!" The sound of a hand meeting skin came, and the painful cry of a child's call came to my ears. Hold on... Don't tell me that was...

"You bastard!" Gray's voice was suddenly insanely loud and furious - a roar of pure anger. "Hit Buddy again and I'll kill you!"

"Gray! Calm yourself!" Erza shouted. She was probably trying to hold Gray back from fighting. "Do you want Buddy to be hurt more?"

No. These men... Hit Buddy...

I forced myself to lift my head, no matter how much pain there was. A hand tried to force it back into the ground, but I mustered the strength to fight it and allow my eyes to see again. The one thing I saw was my friend. Buddy's face. He looked like he was in pain. Seeing his face... His scared, pained face... Made me furious. My anger boiled in me, making my hands form into fists and my jaw clench together. A harsh warmth flew through my blood, giving me a mysterious strength. It stung a little and filled me with the sensation of my body going numb before morphing into a warm energy I could use. I slowly stood up, the pain suddenly diminishing and the leader's blows no longer meeting me. A low growl came to my throat as I managed to get back up onto my feet. I looked through my tangled hair, my eyes pure orbs of fury as I stared at the man holding Buddy.

"_Leave... Buddy... Alone!_"

Then, there were the vines. Vines were everywhere, coming from the walls, the ground, and even my enemies. The three men were suspended in the air, completely engulfed with the green stalks, while Buddy was lowered to the ground. The crying cat immediately began running over to me, jumping into my outstretched arms. "Rii! Rii's okay! Buddy's so glad!" he sobbed.

"It's okay, Buddy," I cooed, stroking his head to calm him. "It's okay now. They won't touch you again, and they won't hurt me again." I looked up at the struggling enemies, my eyes hard. I wish they would go flying into the wall. That would make me happy. But I had no control over these vines; I lost that ability when my magic locked up. But where did these vines come from in the first place? And why were they holding the men like that?

At that moment, the vines moved. They lurched to the side before violently throwing the three into the closest wall. The wall caved, breaking the bricks and harming whatever building was here. ... Huh? Why were they thrown into the wall like that? It was like the earth read my mind or something. Just like all those years ago. Hold on, did I just control the vines? Did I gain my magic again?! I looked at my arm and tried releasing some of my power. The thorns formed at my knuckles again, but small vines now spiraled around my arm. So I did get my vines back! But I didn't get all of my magic; I remembered a glowing mist-like substance that used to radiate from there, which was sadly absent. I suppose it will take longer to get my full strength.

"Is that Rii's magic?" Buddy asked as he watched the vines retreat back to where they emerged.

"Yeah." I said with a hint of pride. "That's my magic all right." I placed him on my shoulder, giving him a happy smile. "Stay right there, okay? I don't want you to get caught again."

He smiled at me with that bright grin of is. "Okay~! Buddy feels much safer now!"

I turned back to my targets, walking towards them as they tried to stand on their shaky legs. "First you hurt the people of this town and make them fear you. Then you go and hurt Buddy and make him run for his life. And finally, you hurt my new friend, right in front of me, when I'm already mad at you." Vines began growing from where I stepped, following me and stretching out towards them. Based on their terrified looks and childish trembling, I must have looked pretty scary. "Let me tell you this, and I'll only say it this one time:

"Nobody-"

The thorns already on the vines doubled in size, becoming much more dangerous.

"-ever messes-"

The vines suddenly snapped into a hostile position almost like snakes do, aiming for them and them only.

"-with my friends in front of me."

I gave a rather terrifying smile, like I always do when I lecture my enemies. Just to give them a little taste of fear before they lose. Not something a normal Fairy Tail mage would do, but I was unique like that. Old habits die hard, I guess. "I bet you'll remember that now." My smile faded into a deep scowl as I lifted my hand into the air, readying my weapons. The vines appeared to flex almost, as if they were impatient for my command. Buddy seemed impatient as well; he was leaning forward, watching with a lashing tail. With the lowering of my hand, the attack was made. All of the dangerous vines lashed out with amazing speed, enclosing the three in a funnel of green. The sounds of whipping were heard just above the loud rumble of the swirling plants. Nobody else could hear them, but I could hear the yelling coming from inside. No matter how many explosions that leader made to the wall of their prison, more vines just came and filled up the hole. Even if they were my enemies, it left a sour taste in my mouth knowing what pain they could be going through. It's a good thing I'm not cruel like them.

As the giant funnel slowed and dispersed, it revealed three unconscious men tied up by smaller vines. Large gashes were all over them, and their clothing was tattered. Despite that sour taste, I was proud of my work. I left them alive, after all, and they would heal. I was happy with the victory here.

And apparently, so was Buddy.


	6. Chapter 5

"The bad cats are beaten up!" Buddy cheered, hugging my head. "That was amazing! Rii's magic is awesome!"

I gave a little laugh. "Thanks, Buddy!" I said joyfully, rubbing my cheek on his. "I'm just glad you're okay!" I turned around to talk to the others, saying, "Well! Looks like this job was a little harder this time, huh-"

"YOU ARE AMAZING!" I gasped with surprise when I was engulfed by a shockingly warm hug. The smell of charcoal filled my nose and the fabric of a scarf was pushed into my face. "Absolutely amazing! I've NEVER seen nature magic used like that before!"

"N-Natsu!" I exclaimed, my voice muffled by the pyro's scarf and his loud laughter. "Natsu, I-I'm happy you enjoyed it but - but is this really necessary?"

"Sure is!" he said as he hugged me even tighter, squeezing the air out of my lungs. "A strong hug is deserving for a strong mage!"

A strong hug is right! His arms are like metal; I couldn't even try to resist I was so stuck. But even if I couldn't push away, someone ended up pulling Natsu away from me. That person was Erza. "Calm yourself, Natsu," she said sternly, holding him from his scarf. "There is no need to treat her that way. Remember, she just used up a lot of her magic."

"Alright, alright!" he yelled, trying to pry himself out of her grip. "Won't do it again!"

It didn't matter if he hugged me or not; someone else came up right after and basically tackled me. "You did it, Tori!" Lucy's happy voice came as she gently yet happily hugged me. "All by yourself, you beat them!"

Buddy climbed to the top of my head, sitting there with a fat grin on his face. "Of course Rii did it!" he said with pride. "She's Buddy's friend! Buddy's friends can do anything!"

I smiled shyly, feeling a slight embarrassment rising in my stomach. "I just did what I had to do. Nothing more."

"No! Rii did a lot more than that!" Buddy protested.

"Buddy's right." Erza agreed, giving me a smile of satisfaction. "You did a phenomenal job of completing this fight. I'm very impressed with you."

Natsu gave a thumbs-up. "See? Even Erza praised you! That just _proves _you were amazing!"

I felt my face begin to heat up. "Oh, I-I'm not all that..." Well, I had trained ever since I was a child to get to the point I was at before my long slumber, so I probably was all that. But still, I didn't enjoy praising myself, and when others did i, it felt a little awkward.

Gray walked forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Don't be so modest," he said, smiling at me. "What you did was awesome. I was amazed with you when you knocked them out the first time. Take pride in what you did." His smile turned into a grin when he moved his hand to pet Buddy. "Even this one's more proud of your work than you are!"

My face and ears burned even more, and I felt myself shrink up a little bit. I wasn't used to being praised like that; whenever I would do something a hundred years ago, Mavis and the others would congratulate me a bit before moving on with life. It was different, being tackled and constantly complimented.

"Look! Tori's blushing!" Happy laughed, noticing and making fun of my embarrassment. "She's so cute when she blushes!"

I shrunk up even more for a moment, trying and failing to glare intimidatingly at the flying blue cat. "Cut it out, Happy!"

"Gah! Soooo cute~!" he cooed, patting my cheeks with his paws as if I was the cat and he was the human. "Don't you think she's cute when she blushes, Gray?"

Gray just shook his head at Happy, pushing him away from me. "Don't do that, Happy. You're making her feel uncomfortable."

"Me?! You're the one that made her blush like that!"

"Anyway!" Desperatley wishing for them to just drop the subject of me growing embarrassed because of praise, I walked away from Happy and Gray and over to Erza, Natsu, and Lucy a few feet away. They were talking to a young woman, who was bloody and beaten, but happy. I saw her earlier, when up in the air, but I paid no mind to her before. "Are you okay?" I asked when I made it over.

She looked at me with bright eyes and nodded. "I'm fine, thanks to you! If you and your friends didn't come when you did, who knows what those men would have done to me!"

"Amy!" Buddy jumped off of my head and into the girl's arms. "Amy's okay!"

The girl hugged Buddy with a joyful grin. "Buddy! You're here!"

Erza must have sensed my confusion, because she suddenly spoke into my ear, "This is Amelia. She's one of Buddy's friends that was attacked by the three. They were abusing her when we found them."

"Ohh, so that's what they were kicking," I whispered. "Poor girl." When Buddy and Amelia completed their short reunion, I smiled and said, "I'm glad we could come in time to help you before any real damage was done."

Natsu took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You and the rest of the town won't be bothered by them anymore. You can all be happy again!" He gave his encouraging and happy smile - the smile that gives even the coldest people a reason to be hopeful. "Won't that be great?"

Amelia nodded with a sweet smile plastered on her lips. "Yeah! Now Buddy won't be scared of visiting me anymore!"

Buddy nodded. "Uh-huh! If Rii comes back here for something, Buddy can go anywhere he wants to see his friends!"

Natsu looked at Buddy with a confused face. "Huh? Are you gonna travel with us still?"

"Yes he is," I said as the brown ball of fuzz jumped back into my arms. "He likes being with us, so why not let him tag along?"

Buddy rubbed his face on my chest with a cute laugh of delight. "Buddy likes Rii! She's nice and friendly, and she's strong too! Buddy feels safe when he's next to her!" He looked at Natsu, grinning. "Buddy wants to leave this town to be Rii's partner, just like Happy is for the pink boy!"

Natsu laughed, a fat grin on his face. "I like that idea! You two will make a good team!"

"I agree!" Amelia cheered. "I saw how you helped her gain that speed for her comeback. You were so fast, Buddy!"

Lucy came up and put her hand on Buddy's head, pleasing him with pets. "You scared me when you left out of nowhere, y'know! But still, you were so cool, flying to catch Tori the way you did. You were so brave!"

Buddy laughed as Lucy pet him, eventually allowing her to hold him as he got pampered. I stood there smiling brightly as everyone talked, laughed, and bickered with each other. Sometimes I still couldn't believe that Fairy Tail had changed so much in the years I had been gone, but at the same time, I couldn't believe how everything was just like how it was back then. Even if these people were new to me, they were still just like a family. In this short time, I've gotten so close to all of them. It baffled me, even now.

"Oi, Tori!" I snapped out of my daze to see Gray standing a little ways away. "Can you come here real quick?"

I nodded and quickly walked over, ignoring Happy when he shouted 'Why are Gray and Tori talking _alone_?!' That cat would say some really strange things about the two of us, just because we were talking to each other. "What is it?" I asked when I stopped next to him.

"You did a really good job of dealing with those guys like you did," he said with a kind smile. "Those vines you created were really cool."

I stared at him for a moment, lifting an eyebrow. "You're praising me again. You're trying to butter me up for some reason. What did I do wrong?"

Gray laughed a little, shaking his head. "You didn't do anything wrong. Why do you always think you did something wrong?"  
>"Because whenever you use that tone and tell me I did a good thing just to make me feel good, it turns out I did something wrong." I replied with a smirk. "It's your Butter-Tori-Up tone."<p>

"I have a tone for that?"  
>"Yeah."<p>

"Well, I'll be sure not to use a specific tone next time," he chuckled as he crossed his arms. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I was just wondering why I haven't seen you use vines before."

I leaned back on my heels, holding my hands behind my back. "I guess... I guess I haven't been able to use them because of that attack a couple of days ago," I said, shrugging. "It was a really bad fight. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of my magic isn't working."

Gray lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, so that isn't new magic? You've been able to do that for a while?"

"Yeah," A proud smile came to my lips. "I'm very good with the vines I use. I tend to favor them when in group battles."

He smirked at my pride. "I can tell. You did that complex move without breaking a sweat. I also noticed how much more magic power you radiate."  
>I blinked. "Really?" I could never tell how much magic I ever radiated at a certain time, but based off of what Mavis used to tell me, it seemed to be a lot. If it was now flowing out at a more noticeable rate, then that must have meant that I was getting closer to getting back to my full strength.<p>

"Yeah, really," His smirk from before was a gentle smile again, but it held a hint of curiosity. His eyes, however, were overflowing with confusion and the longing for a certain knowledge. "You definitely seem more like a Dragon Slayer now. Do you feel any more powerful?"

I studied myself for a moment. I focused on the 'new' power flowing in me. I did feel a little stronger, but nothing like how I was before. That energizing tingle from before was gone now, and I didn't feel too different from the night before. I finally shook my head. "No, not really."

Gray looked rather surprised to hear that. "That's strange. Everybody notices a large difference when they get stronger." He smirked and proceeded to pet me like I was a cat. "You sure you don't just wanna look good in front of us?"

I lightly slapped his hand away. "Don't accuse me of such things, Fullbuster!" I said with a little laughter in my tone. "I don't show off a lot. And when I do, it's for parties or festivals."

The smirk on the Ice mage's face disappeared and was replaced with that curious expression again. "So you really believe that you're still weak compared to how you were before?"

"Not weak," I corrected. "Just held back." It was actually more like I was rusty, but if I said that, I would have revealed the fact that I had not used my magic for quite some time. "If I was challenged a little more, maybe I could get the rest of my skills back."

Gray's eyes suddenly brightened up, as if he was presented with an opportunity. "Like... You need a sparring partner or something?"

I shrugged. "More like a training buddy. I could learn new techniques, and they could learn from me. That kind of thing."

"Kinda like when two teachers are put in the same room."

"Exactly."

A large smile formed on Gray's lips, and his dark eyes gleamed with determination. "I'll help you out!"

I looked up at him, rather startled by his sudden enthusiasm. "What? Really?"

"Yeah! Why not?" he replied. "You need to get your magic back without sparring all the time, and if you ask anyone else for help, fighting is all you're gonna get."

I smiled a little. I was kind of hoping he would offer that; besides Erza and perhaps Lucy, he's the only one in the group I haven't really gotten deeply irritated with. I also wanted to watch him use his magic without me fighting along with him. "Are you sure you're okay with that? I wouldn't want to take up whatever free time you usually have."

"Oh, it's fine," he said with a wave of his hand. "I get a lot of free time, so this will keep me busy." He then allowed an unsure expression paint his face. "Also, I was kinda hoping that you could help me train up a bit."

I tilted my head to the side. "You want my help with Ice magic?"

"Yeah. Like, what magic to use at what time and how to use it effectively." He began rubbing his neck with uncertainty in his eyes. "You seem to be really good when it comes to not fighting blindly and knowing your enemy. Maybe you could teach me how you do that?" For just a short moment, there was a flicker of dread in his eyes, as if he wasn't asking just to get better. Maybe he had a true reason for it, as if he believed he didn't have a choice? However, that flicker of emotion was pushed away as quickly as it appeared, leaving me curious.

Despite my inner thoughts, I kindly smiled at him. "Sure!" I replied rather happily. "I'd be glad to help you! I haven't taught someone techniques though, so forgive me if I do a bad job." I held out my hand. "Glad to be working with you, Fullbuster. Let's train hard before our next big job!"

Gray smiled at me, shaking my hand. "Yeah. Let's see if I can finally be better than that hothead!"

"Missed again."

"Aw, seriously?!"

Gray and I were training a little ways away from our team, far enough away for us to have full focus. It was the day after our big battle with the criminals, and we were passing through a forest on our way to the next town. We stopped for a little lunch break, and since the two of us finished early, we decided to practice. Right now, I was trying to teach Gray about where the proper place to aim should be for long distance attacks. He wasn't doing a very good job.

"You're too impatient," I said from where I sat on a fallen tree. I would have been standing by him, but due to the wounds given to me the day before, I had to rest. "You have to wait for the perfect moment before shooting."

Gray ran a hand through his hair, clutching a bow made of ice rather tightly. "Why do I have to shoot that exact place, anyway? I just want to get some damage in, right?"

I looked at the dummy he was shooting at. It was made of vines, formed to shape a human for our training purposes. An arrow of ice was sticking out of it on the right side of its torso. "If that was a person, you would have killed them."

He looked back at his arrow. "You serious?"

"It went straight into the heart."

He groaned, throwing the bow onto the ground and allowing it to shatter. "Gah, I suck at aiming! Why do you make it look so easy?"

I shrugged. "I rely on aim for most of my magic. Breaking some bones is fine. Sticking a needle in someone's lung or shooting an arrow at the throat is really bad for the both of us." I looked at his frustrated face, my calm eyes meeting his irritated ones. "It's not just your aim you have to rely on, though. Keeping calm and being patient is the real key to landing an effective blow."

Gray shook his head and groaned again, sitting down beside me on the tree. "I'm usually good at waiting around for the right moment. I'm just too irritated right now. Natsu's getting more and more obnoxious the longer I'm around him."

I let out my own groan. "What did he do this time? Create such a bad pun that it was insulting?"

He chuckled at that comment. "When is he never making bad puns?" His momentary smile disappeared almost immediately. "No, he didn't do something as simple as that."

I leaned my head to the side when a wave of sadness began radiating from him. He was slumped over, his body tense. His head was lowered, his dark hair hiding his face from me. "What's wrong?"

"I messed up," he spoke with a slightly hollow voice. "Yesterday, I messed up big time. I was fighting the man with the overly spiky hair. Because of his sound magic, I couldn't get near him. I tried a range attack instead of a close-up. I completely missed him. Instead, I hit Lucy. Natsu saw." His jaw clenched and his hands formed into very tight fists. "Now he won't shut up about it. He just won't give me a break!"

I looked at him for a little while, staying silent so he could try to relax. So that's why he requested to train with me; he doesn't want anything like that to happen again. I placed my hand on his back, feeling him tense up just a little more before relaxing slightly. "Hey, it's okay. Lucy is perfectly fine, right? You shouldn't beat yourself up about it."

"It wasn't just that. I was useless," he said, his voice cracking just slightly - whether he was angered or saddened by his thoughts was something I couldn't tell without looking at his eyes. "In that situation, and when you were being beaten. Everyone else was either too injured or held still. I was just sitting there, unable to do anything for you. Even when Buddy was hurt, I wasn't able to get close."

I lowered my head so I could see his face, smiling at his pained expression. "You were not useless. Up until that point, you were fighting as hard as you could, right? You weren't letting anything beat you. Even if you couldn't do anything physically when I joined back in, you definitely helped me in a little way."

He stared at me, an eyebrow lifted with confusion. "How so?"

"You alerted me that Buddy was hurt," I responded with an encouraging grin. "You yelled when Buddy was hit, right? If Erza didn't stop you, you would have gone to help him, too. But if you didn't yell, I would have been beaten more. I wouldn't have been angered by them. I wouldn't have gotten my vines back." I pat him a little on the back when I noticed his face was growing brighter. "That little shout of anger you gave helped me gain the strength to save my friend. You were not useless, and you never will be. Don't let anyone, especially Natsu, tell you otherwise."

Gray's face slowly grew happier as I spoke, that same smile from two nights ago forming across his lips. That smile was so different from any other smile he showed. Why was it warmer than usual? Why did it hold an emotion I didn't know about? "You're so good at making people feel better. Is that an in-born talent or something?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. Who knows?" I stood up, stretching my aching arms into the air. "Well, now that you're relaxed, want to get back to practicing?"

"Do you really think relaxation is a factor in training? Nobody is ever calm when in battle." Despite his comment and doubtful tone, he stood up and pulsed some of his magic out of his hand to get it flowing.

"When you're on the practice field, your body mimics the movements you make out into battle," I explained, quoting the same thing Letralux told me when I was learning my magic. "No matter what your feelings are towards the enemy, your body will repeat stances, tenseness, and techniques you use when training alone. In any situation, your body needs to be calm and relaxed, so it can explode the attacks as perfectly as possible." I pulsed my own magic, allowing a green light to fly around my hands. "You get it?"

Before Gray could reply like he wanted to, an annoyed voice came shouting from towards our make-shift camp. "Gah! I don't get why I have to come out here. I don't care if Gray gets left behind, so why did they send me?!" Coming out of the brush was the pyro himself. Natsu saw both me and Gray, blinking at us with a blank expression on his face before he lit up. "OH! That's why I agreed to come! I was coming to get Tori!"

I sighed, chuckling at his forgetful mind. "Hello to you too, Natsu. Are we leaving now?"

"Yep! We were actually leaving without you when Buddy asked where you were." He glared at Gray for a moment before saying, "I'm surprised Buddy remembered who you were, Gray. Congratulations, someone cares about you!"

"Don't start, Natsu," Gray growled, turning away from the Fire mage and walking over to where he left his jacket. "I don't want to hear any more from you."

An angry look formed on Natsu's face. "More about what? About your mistake yesterday?"

I glared at him, my brown eyes hard. "Natsu, don't start. You gave him enough about that already."

"Oh, so you know?" He walked closer to me, his tone sour. "You know what that _cold boy _did you Lucy?"

Gray spun around, his face just as angry as Natsu's. "For the last time, it was an accident!"

The pyro gave a glare to the furious Ice mage. "An accident that shouldn't have happened!" He looked back at me, completely tuning Gray out. "You know how much stronger Gray is compared to Lucy! She went flying, Tori! She passed out for a bit because of what he did!"

"Shut up! I told you it was-"

"And Gray's supposed to have full control over his magic!" he continued, still ignoring Gray. "So for him to hit Lucy the way he did, it must've been on purpose! He didn't do anything to move his ice out of her path!"

"Natsu," My voice was an irritated - almost enraged - hiss, my teeth clenched and my eyes narrowed. "Even you know he wouldn't hurt Lucy on purpose. Don't go that low."

"It definitely looked like it was on purpose," Natsu growled. "His ice went right past that guy and went straight for her."

"Dude, shut up!" Gray gripped Natsu's shoulder, forcing him to spin around and see his furious face. "That's not what happened at all! You were there, you saw the guy dodge the attach that was _clearly _made for him!"

Natsu met Gray's glare, getting in his face. "I saw what I said I saw! I thought Tori should know before she goes believing whatever story you decide to make up!"

"Oh, so you're just trying to get Tori to hate me? Is that it?!"

"Guys, stop!" I shouted above their harsh yelling, my own anger boiling in me. "This is stupid! Don't fight just because you can! Natsu, you know it was an accident, and you know perfectly well that Lucy is doing just fine and has forgiven him. Just stop provoking him!"

Natsu's glare grew deeper. "Ah, so now a _girl's _coming in and fighting for you? How pathetic can you get, Gray!"

The sound of ice shattering split through the air. My eyes widened when I saw Gray's fist surrounded by the light blue coating of his magic, that fist planted right on Natsu's cheek. The fiery boy went hobbling back for a short moment before he sent flames spiraling up his arms, completely covering his fists. "Ohhhh, now it's on!"

Both of Gray's hands iced up, his eyes completely filled with anger. "Just shut up already, you jackass!"

The two went flying towards each other, one with icy blades coming out of his arms, and one with pure flames flying out behind him. But before they could collide and start something huge, I got in the way. I didn't even realize I was moving in between them until it was too late for me to back out of it. An insane amount of heat met my right arm, scorching my skin like I was timber. I let out a screech of pain as the flames met me, and that same screech grew louder when an icy blade met the same exact place. In an instant the fight ended, both boys staring with wide eyes at me. I gripped my arm, staring at the spot where their attacks met me. My arm was black - not like the minor black you get when you burn yourself, but a pitch black. A very deep, very painful burn. Me being a Nature mage, I was more vulnerable to fire. The wound was worsened because of Gray's icy gash, causing it to bleed a bunch, but I was more focused on the fact that _my upper arm was black._

"Oh, shit!" Natsu ran close to me, gently grabbing my arm to look at the burn closely. "I'm so sor-"

"Don't even!" I ripped my arm away from him, even if it hurt even more. My mouth was forming a snarl, and my eyes were wide with pure rage. I looked from Natsu to Gray, my eyes flickering to and from their worried faces. "Do you guys only fight with each other?!" I screamed at them, not caring to focus on their shocked and almost scared expressions. "Can you never actually get along like normal people?! Because this is what happens when you guys fight with each other! You _always _bring others into it!" I spun around and began walking angrily back towards the camp, my breathing deep and loud with irritation. "Idiots!"

What happened between those two?


	7. Chapter 6

Despite Natsu's protest, we boarded the train in the next town we arrived in. We were planning on walking the whole time, but after what happened with Gray during the lunch break, I deemed it to be a reasonable punishment for him. Gray's punishment would have been something more painful for him, but he seemed completely uncomfortable with my mere silence. So silence it was.

There was an awkward feeling hanging in the air of the train car we chose, everyone but me fidgeting around where they sat. Natsu was sick, so it made sense for him to be uncomfortable. But all the others, especially Gray, seemed extremely uneasy. Even Buddy, who sat in my lap, seemed on edge and unhappy.

The silence was finally broken by the cry of a suffering Happy. "Ahhh! You guys! You can't be quiet forever!" He looked at Natsu, who's head was now laying in Lucy's lap. "Natsu, start insulting Gray like you always do!"

Natsu didn't answer. Not because he was sick, but because he just didn't want to.

Happy gave up on the childish mage rather quickly and turned to Gray. "Gray, c'mon! You're never this quiet! Try talking with Lucy or something!"

Despite how tense he was earlier, Gray managed to stay completely silent and to keep his gaze at the pastures outside the train.

The blue cat let out an uncomfortable whimper after a while of waiting before he turned to me. "Tori! Please! Make them happy and talkative again!"

Just like two times before, Happy was greeted with silence.

He gave out another cry of discomfort, tearing at the fur on his head. "Gahhh! This is driving me crazy!" He jumped up and began flying towards the train car's exit. "I CAN'T TAKE IT!"

Buddy climbed up on the back of the seat, watching after Happy sadly. "Happy... He doesn't like this quiet. Buddy doesn't either."

I sighed softly, keeping my gaze on the view and nothing else. Now that it was quiet again, I could finally feel the tension everyone else was dealing with. It really was awkward, huh? Even so, I remained still and silent, leaning my head on the wall beside me. As my eyes grew heavy and began to close, the last thing I saw was Gray's reflection. Was he using the window to look at me? His deep eyes were locked on me and me only; he wasn't even distracted by anything in the view. He looked troubled, like he desperately wanted to talk to me about a certain subject, but didn't want to make me angry.

I couldn't question him about it, however, for I was asleep immediately after he noticed I saw.

***

_"You can't win."_

_My eyes shot open, a familiar and old fear filling me almost immediately. I looked around to see the guild surrounding me, beaten and tired. Wait, this wasn't the current guild; this was _my _guild, the Fairy Tail from my time! There was Mavis, standing at the front of the clump of people with that determined look on her young face. Precht was standing on her left, slumped over slightly with a torrent of blood coming from his back. To the right of Mavis was... Me? I was standing there, tall and determined, my dark brown eyes gleaming with bravery and my curly brown hair stained with enemy blood._

_So if I was over there... Did that mean that this was a dream?_

_"We warned you all before this meaningless battle began," a voice from somewhere in the black cloud of our enemies roared over our family, calm and terrifying. "We warned you that to fight us would be your end."_

_"That doesn't mean we'll believe you!" a good friend of mine, a young girl with minty green hair named Lilia, screamed at the swarm. "You could always be wrong!"_

_A man with a giant and ancient scar on his bald head called Troy stood up from where he was on the ground, yelling at the air, "You're underestimating Fairy Tail! We're just getting started!"_

I forgot how dedicated everyone was to each other at this battle, _I thought. _I wonder if the current Fairy Tail is like this, too. _I watched as everyone on the ground began standing once more, readying themselves for more upcoming pain. It made me sad, knowing the outcome of this terrifying brawl._

_Victoria spun around to look at the guild, an encouraging smile on her face. Was that what my smile looked like? It made me feel braver for some reason. "Stay strong, Fairy Tail! Even if we are outnumbered, we can still defend our home!"_

_"Stand up tall, everyone!" Precht forced himself to stand up straight, despite his deep wound. That booming voice of his always sent a shutter down my spine, even now. "Don't let their threats intimidate you!"_

_An annoyed growl echoed around the clearing as the enemies began crawling towards us again. "You're naivete will only kill you." _Yeah... It did kill a lot of us, didn't it?

_The scene before me suddenly morphed. It was raining now in the pasture of the battle. Much more blood stained the dying grass, and several bodies littered the landscape. A giant beast of a creature lurked around the area, stepping on any limp corpse around to make sure it was dead. Bright light suddenly formed in the distance, the Fairy Tail insignia making its mark on the sky's dark clouds. An orange ray came from it, brightening up the dark, rainy land. Was that the glow from Mavis's spell? That was the only thing I could think of that would make a glow that large and that warm. The beast noticed it, too, and went from a slow stomp to a fast sprint. As it disappeared behind some hills, the painful roar sounded as something destroyed it. Maybe the rest of the guild was over there, too, helping their master destroy the final threat._

_Sudden movement made the focus turn away from the light and back into the dark field. There was a man down there, wounded and slow-moving. He was completely cloaked in black, hiding his face and any part of his skin. The only thing that was show was his emerald green hair, which was long enough to fall out of his cloak. As soon as he stopped swaying, the scene changed yet again. Trees now scattered the area, having grown through a long gap in time. But all of the trees were burning. Burning in a red fire. That man was still there, the green hair being shown swaying in the hot wind._

_Then I saw his evil, cruel red eye. As soon as I saw that eye, my entire being filled with a fear that would bring anyone pain. I was engulfed by his flames - engulfed by that eye..._

_***_

I sat up as quickly as I could, a fearful scream escaping my lips. I stared at nothing for a long moment, trying to slow my racing heartbeat and gain control of my breathing. "Just a dream," I whispered, reminding my mind what my body forgot. "It was just a dream. Nothing more." I let out a shaky sigh, hugging myself like a child would to give myself a little comfort.

It was nighttime. The window beside me allowed the moonlight to shine through. I looked around to see that I was in Lucy's home, sleeping in her bed. But weren't we on a train? How did I get here? I looked down at the floor to see the blonde girl sleeping on a pallet right beside the comfortable mess of pink I was laying in. All it took was me shifting around for her to wake up. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said as she sat up, noticing how my voice was high pitched with the fear of my dream. "I woke you, didn't I?"

"It's okay," she replied with a smile, rubbing her eyes before looking completely at me. "I was wanting to talk to you earlier anyway, so I'm kinda glad we both woke up." Her happy face fell when she saw the condition I was in. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

I quickly shook my head. "I-It's nothing! Just a bad dream is all."

She sighed with understanding. "Ugh, I hate nightmares. No matter how minor the scare can be, you always wake up like you're dying. What was it about?" When a pained looked crossed my face, she quickly added, "U-Unless you don't wanna talk about it! It's perfectly okay if you keep it to yourself! I understand!"

I chuckled at how frantic she was, relaxing a little more. "It's fine. It was just a dream, after all." I explained my dream to her, leaving out anything that would make it seem like I knew the people from the battle. When I got to the part where I was engulfed by the painful red flames, Lucy ended up shuttering like I did. "And that was all," I concluded. "As soon as I looked at his eye, I woke up here." I blinked, looking around the room. "How did I get here, anyway?"

Lucy stayed silent , shaking her head. She was too busy thinking to hear what I said.

"Lucy?"

"Huh?" she shook her head of her thoughts, looking up at me with a blank face for a moment. "Uh... Oh right! How you got here! Uh, we got back at around sunset, and we didn't want to wake you up. Since we didn't know where you live, we took you back here."

lifted an eyebrow. "'We'? That doesn't seem right. Natsu and Happy definitely would have woken me up, and Erza wouldn't care what happened."

A little smile crossed her face. "Actually, it was Gray's idea to let you sleep. He made sure no one woke you up."

"He did?" I leaned back a little on the edge of the bed. "Huh. Even when he knows I'm annoyed with him and Natsu, he's still kind to me."

She nodded. "You two are getting pretty close, huh?"

I shrugged. "I guess so."

"Close enough to start training together... In private?"

My eyes narrowed at her. "Lucy, what are you hinting at?"

"Well..." Lucy's small smile grew a bit. "You two do look pretty cute..."

"Don't even go there," I said immediately, watching her as she stifled her laughter. "Just don't. There's nothing at all."

She shook her head. "I know, but still! It's cute to think about it!"

I smirked at her. "Really? As cute as you and Natsu?"

Her face went really red, and her eyes grew insanely wide. "W-What? Me and N-Natsu? Nonononono!" She shook her head frantically, waving her hands out in front of her in denial. "T-T-There's nothing between us! Nothing at all!"

I laughed at her discomfort. "If you don't like me talking about you two, then don't talk about me and Fullbuster that way!"

She tried glaring me down, proving to be ineffective because she was blushing so hard. "Stop laughing, Tori! It isn't funny!"

I laid back on the bed, still laughing. "It's a harmless laugh, Lucy! It's not like you actually like him or anything!"

She stayed silent.

My head turned to look at her again, a fat grin on my face. "No. No way. You don't-"

"It's nothing serious," she interrupted, turning her head away from me so I couldn't see her face clearly. "I highly doubt he feels the same way, anyway, so it doesn't matter."

"Dude, you like Natsu!" I almost fell off the bed trying to sit up, my voice squeaking with delight. "You actually _like _Natsu! As a boyfriend!"

She tried to jump up to cover my mouth, but she slipped on her mat and didn't get to silence me before she spoke. "Shh, don't scream it for the whole world to hear! Someone from the guild could be outside!"

I shook my head quickly. "No one's out there, so it's okay!" I didn't give her enough time to ask me how I could know if anyone was outside by leaning towards her, my excitement brimming. "When did you start liking him?"

She shrugged. "I-I don't know! It just happened at some point, I guess." She brought her legs close to her, laying her chin on her knees. A small smile was forming on her face. "I guess being his partner ever since I joined the guild gave me a little attraction to him."

I just grinned at her. "That... Is the cutest thing in the world!"

Lucy's face grew an even darker shade of red as I cooed at her. "Please, _please _don't tell anyone about this! Nobody else knows, and I don't want anyone else to know!"

"Then why tell me? Why not deny it like you do with everyone else?"

She shrugged again. "I don't know. I guess I'm just hoping you can keep a secret. You can keep this secret, right?"

I nodded. "Oh, yeah! Of course!" _This isn't the biggest secret I'm keeping, so it should be easy_, I thought. "Could I ask why you like him? I mean, doesn't he get on your nerves a lot?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," she admitted. "But not enough for me to actually be mad at him." She smirked at the doubtful look I gave her. "He's just irritating to you because he wants your attention, y'know."

I blinked. "Attention? Why would he want attention from me?"

"Why do you think he would?" She laid back on the ground, playing with the key that can summon her pet, Plue. "He wants to be your friend. He wants you to be around him instead of Gray. But since he's trying so hard, he comes off as annoying and rude. You are a Dragon Slayer, after all, and you being around anyone other than him doesn't seem right to him."

"What's the deal with him and Fullbuster, anyway?" I wondered, mainly asking myself that question. "It has to be more than just the fact that they're Fire and Ice, right?"

Lucy shrugged. "Not sure. I guess they've just hated each other since day one just to hate each other. They are rivals, though, so everything in life could be a constant competition. Who knows?" She looked at me with a curious expression. "Hold on, why do you call Gray by his last name?"

"I normally call people by their last names," I replied. "I called him Fullbuster before I decided to stick with first names, so Fullbuster just stuck. Why?"

"It's just different is all," Lucy stretched her arms into the air, some of her bones popping loudly. "Nobody is used to being called by their last names. It's a little too polite as well as too distant for family members, y'know?"

I laid down on my stomach, looking towards her desk. "I suppose. It's just natural for me, I guess."

It was silent for a little while, our thoughts floating around our heads. So, Natsu and Lucy, huh? I assumed that there was a romantic attraction between the two of them, but it was just a little scenario at the back of my head. To know that it was an actual thing going on made me rather intrigued. Did Natsu feel the same way? Maybe. But he wouldn't know it, yet alone be able to tell someone that he knew.

"Hey," Lucy broke the silence, her voice somewhat cautious. "Why are you mad at Gray and Natsu, anyway? Did they do something to you?"

I sighed. "I'm not mad at them. I'm just irritated with their behavior towards each other."

Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "But Natsu told me that you were mad at them for something they did to you. He didn't say what, though."

I hesitated a moment before explaining what happened. I told her about Gray's feelings towards what happened to her and how Natsu was getting on his nerves about it. I told her about the argument and fight that they got into, and how it drove me over the edge. When I told her about the burn and the cut, I removed the bandages from my right arm to show her the black wound. "I got mad at them," I said as my eyes began to grow a little heavy with exhaustion. "I got mad and stopped talking to them all together."

Lucy was silent for a long while before asking, "It wasn't on purpose, so why be mad at them for this long?"

"Their behavior," I replied. "I could care less about the burn. It was my own fault I got that. It's how they treated each other."

I heard my friend sigh rather loudly. "Tori, they can't help themselves. It's just something they have to do for things to be complete around here."

My lingering irritation began to fade away. "It's that common, huh?"

"Yeah. And I bet they both feel completely horrible for hurting you like that."

I sighed, all anger replaced with regret. She was right - some people are just so used to fighting each other that they don't know what else to do. So did I overreact to Natsu and Gray? Should I have yelled at them the way I did?

Lucy stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling at me. "Y'know what you should do? You should go and find Gray tomorrow and talk to him about all of this. Talk it through with him, then go get some food or something, just the two of you."

I smirked. "I don't know about food, but I'll talk to him."

"Natsu, too?"

"Natsu, too."

Lucy grinned at me, showing off that pretty smile she denied having. "Good! I bet that as soon as people see the three of you smiling like always, everyone else will be happier, too!"

I chuckled. "I don't know about that, but the three of us will definitely be in higher spirits."

She gave a little laugh, laying back down on her pallet. "That's all the guild needs to be joyful." It grew silent as she fell asleep, our soft breathing being the only noises in the room now.

The guild would be happier, huh?


	8. Chapter 7

It seemed like it was still nighttime when morning came. Dark clouds covered the sky like a blanket, flashes of white lightning cutting through the grey on occasion. It wasn't raining though; the full storm was a little ways away, threatening a different area nearby. Lucy had left early to try and make it to the guild hall before any rain came, so I woke up alone. Why she didn't just stay home was beyond me, since we weren't going on a job for a day or two.

The open window allowed an icy breeze to fly in, chilling me to the bone. Anyone else would have taken Lucy's clothes, but I decided against it. It would be rude to wear her things without asking. But I did decide to carry her white jacket, since I knew it was the only one she owned and she would probably freeze without it. Did it just now get cold or something? It's surprising that she would leave it. Oh well.

I couldn't even make it over to the door before a familiar voice came to my ears. "Rii~!" I looked over to the window to see a happy little Buddy flying to me, his tiny arms stretched out to me. I opened my arms just in time to catch him, feeling his paws grip my vest as we hugged. "Buddy missed Rii last night! He wished he stayed here with her and Rushii instead of Guray!"

"Oh, so that's where you were?" I asked, looking down at his bright face. "Did he treat you well?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh! Buddy slept in a comfy bed and had a nice dream!" He jumped out of my arms and up onto the windowsill, yelling out to the streets, "Guray! Rii is awake! Buddy will be okay now!"

"Alright! See ya at the guild, bud!" the familiar voice of the Ice mage replied from outside of the building before the streets became quiet again.

Wait, Gray's out there? I ran over to the cold window and poked my head out, trying to ignore the icy blast of air that greeted me. "Hey, Fullbuster!" I yelled out at him to gain his attention, since he was already walking away. If I was going to talk to him like Lucy wanted me to, why not do it now?

Gray turned around quickly and looked up at me, his expression rather surprised. "Tori?" By the tone of his voice, it sounded as if he didn't expect me to talk to him. To be honest, it wasn't really surprising to me. "What's up?"

I didn't reply to him from the window. Instead, I jumped out and landed on the ground below. It was an easy landing despite the height, and it helped speed up the numbing process of my body. Not only does my body not do well with too much heat, but it couldn't really handle the cold, either. I took a couple of steps forward to stand in front of Gray, who was even more surprised than before. "I want to talk to you."

He just stood there staring at me before saying, "Well, you didn't have to jump from a window to do that! You could've just, I dunno, used the door?"

I placed my hands on my hips. "Well, excuse me for not being a normal person!" I remarked, using a childish tone to show my humor. "I thought it would be quicker to use the window!"

"It is!" Buddy was now laying on my head, apparently using the window again to get to me. "Buddy likes the window, too!"

Gray rolled his eyes at me before petting the brown cat on my head. "It's different for you, 'cause you can fly. Tori can't, so it's more dangerous for her."

"Dangerous?" I scoffed. "That's funny." My mood changed from joyful to serious, maybe even a bit upset. As soon as my mood changed, Gray's did as well; he became a little sad, as well as cautious. "So... About yesterday-"

"Wait," he interrupted me rather quickly, his voice filled with apology. "Let me say something first." He took a moment to choose his words before saying, "About yesterday... I'm sorry for my behavior. Y'know, how I exploded at Natsu like that. It ruined our entire trip home, and everyone got kinda mad at everybody." He looked away from me, trying to avoid my gaze. "It was a crappy move on my part."

I sighed, shaking my head. "It wasn't just your fault. Natsu was being a jerk to you. Plus," I rubbed my arm, looking at my feet. "I kind of let my own irritation get in the way. I wouldn't have acted that way if I knew why you and Natsu were always fighting like that." I flinched slightly when I touched the wound I received from the quarrel, biting my lip so I wouldn't express my pain.

Obviously, it didn't work. "Don't you dare blame yourself for what Natsu and I did to you," he said crossly, placing his hand on my arm right above the burn. His warm hand became cold as he began using some of his ice magic to cool my wound down, proving to be rather effective. "You have no reason to. It was our own fault you got hurt like that."

"But it was me that-"

"No, don't even finish." His other hand moved to press his finger over my mouth, silencing me. His face was suddenly close to mine, as if he really wanted to keep me quiet. I could see his eyes clearly now; they were filled with worry, pain, and regret. "I don't care what you think you did, 'cause you didn't do it. It was all me and Natsu. You did what anyone else would've done." When I just stood there, silent, he removed his finger from my lips and leaned back slightly. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Tori, so don't waste your time trying. I'm the one that has to apologize to you. So," He bowed his head to me. "I'm sorry."

I stared at him for a moment, standing still and silent. He... Didn't even care that I was unreasonable yesterday? And even if it was my own fault getting in between them when they were fighting, he was blaming himself for it? No one, not even Mavis, ever took my blame back in the past. Why did it make me feel so warm? A smile crept across my face, and I found myself resting my hand on Gray's shoulder. He looked up when I did so, staring right at me. "I don't want to forgive you, because there isn't anything to apologize for. But if you really want to say sorry, then I forgive you." My smile widened slightly as the brightness filled his eyes again. "And now that I have forgiven you, could you stop feeling like everything is your fault? Don't feel bad for the things that went poorly. Feel good for all of the things that went wonderfully. I guarantee that everyone will be in a better mood if you smile and laugh like always. Okay?"

Gray was now standing up straight like before, looking at me with the brightest gaze I have ever seen on his face. He waited just for a moment before he grinned a smile that made me feel that much warmer. "Alright. Thanks, Tori." His hand on my arm grew warm again, telling me that he was done cooling my burn. But he didn't move his hand; he left it there, the warm touch adding to the warmth flowing through me. I didn't get it. Why was it so warm? And when I focused on that question, another one popped into my head. Why was my heart racing? Was it because of what Lucy said the night before? But that couldn't be right. I don't think of Gray that way...

"You two are sooo cute!"

The warm feeling went away almost immediately when a high pitched voice came to my ears. Both Gray and I allowed our smiles to fall and our eyes to narrow. I turned my head to look behind me, seeing a blue and white tail flicking around. I stared at it just for a moment before I smirked. A small vine shot up and caught the tail, lifting the blue cat named Happy into the air. "Look, Fullbuster! I caught a kitty!" I cheered.

Happy tried escaping only for a moment before he gave up entirely. He let his arms dangle towards the ground, just hanging there upside down in a vulnerable state. "Don't hurt me, guys! I don't mean any harm!"

"Aw, is the little kitty scared?" Gray teased, smirking and crossing his arms.

"Yes! The little kitty IS scared!"

I walked towards Happy, the Ice mage following close behind. "Well then, the little kitty shouldn't have been eavesdropping on our conversation." I replied, my voice teasing but kind of dark - just to give him a fun little scare. "It's bad to sneak around like that."

"I didn't mean to listen in at first!" Happy yowled, now flailing about to try to break free. "I was looking for you, Tori, and I just happened to come along at this time!"

"Why was Happy looking for Rii?" Buddy asked from where he sat on the small ledge right by the canal, tilting his head to the side with curiosity.

"Natsu and I were racing to see who could find Tori first."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Racing? Why would you be racing to find me?"

Noticing that my scary humor was over, he grew still again and just looked up at me. "He wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday, but he forgot where you were staying. We decided that we should race to see who could find you first." A fat grin formed on his face. "The prize is a fish!"

Gray scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Typical. Just like him to bet for food."

"It's a good fish!"

I lowered Happy back to the ground, allowing him to stand and stick around on his own will. "So you're saying that Natsu is wandering all around Magnolia trying to find me so he can apologize and try to win a fish?" I shook my head and squeezed the bridge of my nose. "Well, don't I feel special?"

"C'mon, don't be sarcastic," Gray said as he pat me on the shoulder. "At least he has the sense to say sorry at all. He's smarter than he had been for a long time now."

I was about to comment about his attitude towards Natsu, but I was interrupted by a sudden laugh of achievement. "Ha! I smell Tori! I beat Happy to her! I feel accomplished!" Coming around the corner Happy was binding behind was the pink-haired boy himself, a goofy smile across his lips. After he saw Happy standing beside me, his smile morphed into an irritated scowl. "Noooo! I was supposed to win!"

Happy smirked at his partner. "Sucks to suck, Natsu! You're buying me a fish today!"

Natsu shook his head, gripping his hair angrily. "No! I have to waste money now! Do you have any idea how expensive that fish you want is?!"

"It's a GOOD FISH!"

"I know it's a good fish, that's why I-" He suddenly cut himself off, slapping his forehead. "No! No! I can't talk about this!" Turning to me, he ran over to me until his face was directly in front of mine. He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and held me tight enough for me to not be able to move. "Tori! Listen closely, okay? I'm only saying this once, so you need to pay attention. Don't zone out or anything, okay Tori?"

I blinked my eyes awkwardly at him with a strange look of confusion on my face. "Uh... O-Okay?"

"Like, you'll really really REALLY pay attention?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Really really?"

"Natsu, I'll pay attention!"

He stared at me for a while, moving his face closer to mine so I could only see his black eyes. "... You sure?"

"Damn it, Natsu, tell her already!" Gray yelled impatiently, pushing his rival out of my face.

"Okay, okay! Geez!" Natsu slapped at Gray's arm before turning back to me. He suddenly fell onto his knees and bowed deeply to me, his face completely hidden by his hair. "I'm sorry! I was a huge ass yesterday, I know! I shouldn't have given Gray a hard time, I shouldn't have started a magic battle with him, hell, I shouldn't have even gone to get you guys! I made a huge screw-up with hurting you, too, and I feel really, REALLY bad about it! I promise I won't ever start fights with Gray again when you're around! I promise I won't ever touch you with my fire again! I promise! I'll even buy you food! As much food as you want! Just please! Please don't be mad at me! I'm really sorry! Really!"

I looked at him for a while, letting his apology sink in. He really did feel awful, didn't he? I smiled and gave a little laugh. "You say 'really' a lot, don't you?" I then bent over, putting my hand on his head. He looked at me, surprised. "Want to go get some breakfast, Natsu?" I asked him with a smile. "I know this good place with fish Happy can have. We can go and relax there before going to the crazy guild."

Natsu's face brightened up at my hint of forgiveness, that cheesy grin forming on his face again. "Yeah! That sounds awesome!"

I smiled happily and stood up straight, helping Natsu off the ground. I looked at Gray and said, "You should come, too! I bet there's better food where we're going instead of at the guild hall."

Gray looked at me with surprise written on his face before he smiled. "Sure. So long as you don't make me sit by him."

"Why would I wanna sit by you?" Natsu said as he began walking the opposite way of where I wanted to take them. Despite his tone, he had a teasing smirk on his face, showing he wanted to just joke around instead of actually argue. "You'll ruin the food."

I smirked at him and began walking the right direction with Gray, calling back, "Natsu! You're going the wrong way!"

He spun around and began running until he was in front of us again, returning to a walk as he said, "I knew that! Shut up!"

I rolled my eyes at him, but I still laughed at his behavior. It felt good again, being able to laugh at Natsu and smile with Gray. And by their happy faces and joyful nature, I bet they were, too.


	9. Chapter 8

"We're back!"

Arm and arm with the two boys, we barged into the guild with a big, happy entrance. Everyone in the hall looked at us with fat grins and bright eyes. Some seemed a little confused when they looked at us, probably because Gray and Natsu weren't going at each other. I was more proud than surprised; they weren't killing each other, and that alone was a good start.

It's been two weeks since the three of us got in the fight. The weather took a sudden turn from a cozy warm to a chilling cold, the leaves turned colors and fell rather quickly, and there's even some ice on the buildings' rooftops. It's definitely been a lot lazier around the guild since no one wants to be out in the cold too long. However, I haven't stopped my exploring and my learning, and Gray hasn't stopped his practicing. Every day for the past two weeks we've been going out into a secluded spot in the forest to train. His range attacks have gotten a lot better, and he's been helping me recover my magic. Well, not my magic, but my skills. It's actually been a lot more fun working with him than I thought it would be. I originally expected for us to work all the time to hone our skills. However, we've goofed off a lot, and when we practiced, it's always fun and entertaining since we can tease each other without offending the other person. Besides Lucy, Gray is probably the closest person to me in the guild. Everyone else things so, too, from what I can tell.

"Hey Lucy!" I called happily when I saw the shivering blonde over by the bar. I ran over to her, holding out her jacket. "This is the second time I've had to bring this to you. Are you really that forgetful in the mornings?"

Lucy ripped the jacket out of my hands, putting it on as quickly as possible. "Tori, you're a life saver! I freaking love you!"

I smirked at her. "Consider yourself lucky. I would have worn it myself if the guys didn't take me shopping yesterday." I hugged the black fur coat Gray bought for me, taking advantage of the giant amount of heat it gave me. It was really long, too; it reached all the way down to my ankles, so my legs were pretty warm as well. "I don't even need a new outfit for the winter! I can just wear this all the time!"

I felt an insanely warm arm wrap around my shoulders, and before I could look to see who it was, a familiar voice whined, "Aw, so now you don't have a reason to hug me anymore! That's depressing."

I turned my head to look at Natsu, an eyebrow raised. "Why would I give you hugs just for your warmth? That's just mean." To go against what I normally do, I returned his hug by wrapping one of my arms around him. "I happen to like hugs just for the sake of hugging, you know."

Natsu's grin formed on his face again. "I get Tori hugs! I feel special!" he cheered, squeezing me a little more than usual before looking at Lucy with a giant gleam of pride in his eyes. "See Lucy? Tori doesn't hate me! I told you she liked my company!"

"Who said she hated you?" Lucy replied, looking to the side instead of meeting his gaze. "I just said that she doesn't like how you touch her all the time."

A smirk crossed my face when I noticed Lucy's behavior. She seemed to do that a lot, look away when Natsu hugged or touched someone else. I only noticed it recently, though, since I now knew about her feelings. My smirk widened when I said, "Ooh, looks like Lucy's jealous she isn't getting the special Dragneel treatment."

Her head turned to look at me, her face a rosy pink glare. "Tori! Why would I be jealous over something like that?!"

Natsu laughed a little before grabbing Lucy's arm, pulling her into a bear hug. "If you want a hug that badly, then here you go!" he yelled playfully.

"N-N-Natsu!" Her face went from pink to a bright red, and even though she was pushing him to try and break free, I had a feeling she was actually enjoying it.

I laughed at the two friends and began to walk away. "Well, I'll leave you two alone now!" I called and gave a back-handed wave.

"W-Wait, Tori!" I couldn't help but laugh a little more at Lucy's frantic tone.

I walked across the guild hall, planning on talking to Mirajane and Lisanna as they carried drinks around. But before I could make it over to them, I felt someone crash right into my side. I myself didn't move a lot, but food and drinks did splatter all over my new coat. The person that ran into me let out a squeal of distress, and she began running her hands on me to try and brush off all of the food. "Oh God, Juvia is so sorry! Juvia promises she didn't do that on purpose!"

I chuckled at her. "No worries. You didn't do any harm." I shook off the coat, the drink splatter being the only thing remaining. "There, see? It's all good now."

"A-Are you sure?" she asked, her face still very apologetic. "It still looks pretty messy."

I nodded. "It will dry off in a little while. Don't worry about it." I took a closer look at the girl, a kind smile forming on my face. "I don't think we've really met. I'm Tori." I said as I held out my hand.

She hesitated for a moment before shaking my hand, a shy smile forming on her face. "Juvia. It's very nice to meet you, Tori-san."

"-San?" I laughed. "You don't have to be so formal with me. We are part of the same guild, after all."

Juvia gave a shy giggle to show her small amount of embarrassment. "Juvia's just used to it is all. It's not really normal for Juvia to call someone by their name alone." She smiled kindly at me. "You're the newest member, right? How do you like the guild?"

My smile widened greatly. "Oh, I love it here! Everyone is so open and friendly, and the jobs are always interesting."

"That's good," she said happily. "Have you made a team yet?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I joined Fullbuster's team."

Juvia's smile began to fade. "Gray-sama's team? You mean, every job you go on, you go with Gray-sama?"

"The majority of the jobs, yes."

Juvia bit her lip, looking down at the ground. "You don't... like Gray-sama, do you?"

I lifted an eyebrow at her question, but my confusion shifted into amusement after a short hesitation. "Don't worry about that. He's all yours."

She smiled again, brushing some of her blue hair out of her face. "Good. You're too nice to consider a love rival. Juvia is glad you don't have feelings for Gray-sama."

Love rival, huh? I guess she things she has a lot of those. Before I could reply to her, Juvia's face lit up and her eyes melted in a way. A giant smile also formed on her face. I looked behind me to see Gray walking up. His stride was quick - a little too quick for him to just want to talk. "Hey Tori, you busy?"

"No, not really."

"Good, 'cause Gramps wants to talk to you." He suddenly grabbed my arm. "Like, right now." He didn't say another word as he began dragging me towards the stage at the back of the guild hall.

"H-Hey!" I pried at his arm, forcing him to let me go. "You don't have to pull my arm off just to get me to move! I can walk on my own."

He smirked. "I know you can, but you're very, very slow."

I proceeded to smack his arm, and he responded by laughing at me.

Master Makarov was waiting for us by the stage, sitting at one of the only vacant tables in the area. When he saw the two of us make it over to him, he smiled kindly and said, "Hello again, Tori! How've you been?"

"I've been well," I replied. It was at that moment that I realized that I hadn't talked to Makarov in the entirety of the two weeks. He had just waved to me in greeting as I passed by. This was the first conversation we were having in a while. "I really enjoy being a part of the guild."

He huffed a short laugh. "Really? I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of these brats were getting on your last nerves." He took a giant swig of his beer before continuing. "I heard about the giant fight you and the rest of your team got into. You recovering from all of the wounds?"

I glanced at Gray, who was now looking down at the ground, before focusing on Makarov again. "Yes, we're all recovering. I can hardly feel anything I received, and everyone else is perfectly healthy."

He smiled at me, his bushy grey mustache furrowing about. "That's good! I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." His smile then fell and was replaced with a very serious expression. "I know you were hoping to relax after the long list of jobs you did yesterday, but I have something I want you to do."

So he does know about all the jobs people do, and it isn't just Mirajane? Good to know. "Of course," I said as I sat down in front of him. "What is it?"

"I want you to go on a trip," he began. "I have a job the Council requested me to do, but they want me to take one or two more people. I want you to come along with me and help me complete the job quickly so I can prepare for something else."

I blinked, my curiosity perking up. He wanted to take a new guild member with him on a job? Why me and not one of the stronger members? Despite my thoughts, I nodded and said, "Of course I'll go. I'd be honored to."

Makarov closed his eyes. "Now, you must know that this job is much more important, and therefore much more dangerous, than any of the jobs on that request board. That's why the Council asked me to do it instead of mere guild members. You are to stay by my side or with Gray at all times, and you are to not get distracted."

"Wait," Gray took a step forward, confusion in his voice. "Me? I'm going too?"

"Yes, you are," he replied sternly, as if he'd expect Gray to resist. "They said one or two people, so I'm bringing two to be safe. Is there a problem with that? I could take someone else with-"

"No," Gray was quick to interrupt Makarov, which seemed to surprise him. "I'll go. I was just surprised you picked me is all."

The guild master studied the Ice mage, his eyes narrowed. He turned back to me after a moment of silence. "As I was saying, stay with me or Gray, don't get distracted, and do not tell anyone why we're there. After you find out the mission, you'll see why. Understood?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good," He jumped onto the floor and looked up at me. "We'll leave after lunch today. You have until then to ready yourself. Pack light, but still pack. We'll be gone for a few days." As he walked away, he called back to us, "Wear something that'll hide your guild marks! Tori, wear something other than a bra! Gray, don't even think of taking that shirt off! Be decent!"

I wrapped my coat around me a little more, feeling my ears and cheeks heat up. "I-It's not a bra..."

"Gramps doesn't really care what it is," Gray said with a smirk. "All he cares about is if it shows boob or not."

My face burned even more. "Thank you for making me feel that much more uncomfortable with this outfit that I happened to get for free."

He was suddenly right in front of me, grabbing my coat and wrapping it around me until I was completely covered. There was a small latch hidden in the fur I never noticed, keeping it closed. "There. Now you can't tell that you have the guild mark, and nobody can see what type of shirt you're wearing."

I smiled at him. "Thanks! That saves me the effort of wasting money." I began walking towards the front doors, saying to my friend, "Save me some food, Fullbuster! I don't want to come back to find out you ate and didn't get me anything!"

"Wait, where are you going?"

I spun around to look at him again, a bright grin on my face. "I'm going to go pack for our trip!" I winked in farewell before darting out of the doors.

I wasn't even halfway down the road before Buddy caught up with me. He flew beside me as I ran all the way across town to our apartment building. It was close to the train station, which gave me the ability to get home quickly after jobs. It was a cheap place, too; even if it wasn't as fancy as most homes, it was cozy and I didn't have to waste money on it. I was mainly talking to myself the whole time I was packing, reminding myself what to grab and what to leave behind. I also griped about how I didn't have anything to keep me warm at night. I wasn't going to wear my fur coat when sleeping, but I do get cold - especially now that winter's coming up. Maybe another trip to the store will be something I'll have to squeeze in at some point during our mission...

"Rii is going on a trip?"

I looked up from my bag to look at Buddy. "Yep! Master Makarov wants me to go with him on a job, so I have to go no matter what."

Buddy looked extremely sad, sniffling a bit and rubbing his eyes. "Does that mean Buddy has to stay behind?"

I furrowed my eyebrows with confusion. "Why would you stay behind?"

He sniffed again. "Because Buddy is part of the team. He has to stay behind like the others when Rii leaves to go on her own."

I sat down on the bed next to him, placing my hand on his small head. "Don't be silly, Buddy. You might be part of the team, but you're my partner. I won't ever leave my partner behind."

Buddy's happy smile returned rather quickly as I said that, grabbing my hand with his paws. "Yay! Buddy gets to go! Rii's the best!" I laughed as the silly cat jumped onto my lap, snuggling close like he always did when we hugged. "Buddy's glad he got to meet Rii. She's so nice to him, and she keeps him safe. He feels so much happier when he gets to be with Rii."

I smiled, stroking his head. "I'm glad you feel that way. I really like having you around."

"Buddy likes being around, too!"

I gave a laugh and stood up, returning to my bag. I had basic hygiene supplies in there, plus a pair of pajamas and a few books. It was a very small bag, so nothing else would fit into it. With the bag hanging from my shoulder and with a brown cat in my arms, the two of us left our tiny apartment once again. Despite the fact that both Buddy and I were comfortable where we lived, we had a long walk back to the guild ahead of us. It was annoying, especially today. All of my energy was wasted running to my home, so I had none left to run back.

But today, the walk didn't matter. I got to Lucy's street when a sub sandwich came out of nowhere, lightly hitting my cheek before landing in my outstretched hand. I looked next to me to see Gray walking over. "Your food, like you wanted."

"Fullbuster?" I tilted my head to the side. "Why are you out here and not at the guild?"

"There was too much excitement there," he replied. "It was giving me a headache, especially with Natsu's yelling and Juvia following me all over the place."

I smirked. "What, you don't like it when a girl follows you?"

"Not when it's Juvia."

I chuckled as I sat down on the ledge next to the canal. "I take it you don't like her, then?"

He shook his head, sitting down next to me. "She's a great friend and all, and she can definitely kick ass, but I don't like her that way."

I shrugged as I removed the tin foil from my sandwich. When Buddy looked at me with extra big eyes, I ripped off a big chunk of it for him to eat. "That's understandable. Feelings can't always be mutual. But you should at least tell her you aren't interested. Maybe she'll give you the privacy you want."

"Eh, it's not really her that I'm really fussing about," Gray began messing with the top button of his shirt, buttoning and unbuttoning it as if he was debating whether or not he should take it off. "It's mainly Natsu. Even if he promised not to piss me off when you're around, it won't stop him from trying all together."

"Is it his soul purpose to annoy you?"

He chuckled. "Sure seems like it. He annoys everyone else, too. He constantly wants to fight people, he's loud all the time, and he always finds a way to get me on my last nerves. What about you?" he asked as he looked at me. "Does he piss you off?"

"Not to your extent," I said after swallowing a large bite of ham sandwich. "I can get annoyed sometimes, but not enough to want to punch him."

"I wish I had your tolerance."

Buddy climbed onto my back, his face covered with mayonnaise and breadcrumbs. "Buddy likes how calm Rii always is. She keeps him calm and makes him feel safer."

I grabbed him and sat him down in my lap, using the sleeve of my coat to wipe off his mouth. "You're such a messy eater, Buddy. You should always wipe your mouth when you're done." I moved my sleeve away and smiled at him. "There you go! Nice and clean!"

He smiled at me and squinted his big eyes closed, his adorable face becoming that much cuter. "Thanks, Rii!"

Gray smirked at me, an eyebrow raised. "Y'know, I just noticed how much you baby him."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What? I don't baby him."

"Yeah, sure you don't," he replied sarcastically. "All you do is feed him and teach him proper manners like he's your child."

"I don't baby him!"

"Yeah!" Buddy hopped off of my lap and onto Gray's. Despite his cross tone, his face was as bright as usual. "Rii doesn't treat Buddy like a baby! She just cares about him a lot!"

Gray rolled his eyes, ruffling the fuzzy fur on Buddy's head. "Alright, alright. Whatever you say, Bud."

I scoffed, crossing my arms. "You say I'm the one that treats him like a child, Mr. Agreeable."

He looked at me with his usual smirk. "Yes, I am saying that, Mama Rii."

It seems like slapping his arm and being laughed at because of it has become a usual thing.

Buddy blinked a few times, staring at nothing as he thought. "Mama Rii...?" he muttered.

"Yep, she's Mama Rii!" Gray said with humor filling his voice. "She's gonna feed you cookies and make you sweaters, and slap your wrists if you don't eat your onions!"

I stood up, a smirk of amusement crossing my face to show that I wasn't angry at all. "Hey! I'm not abusive!"

"I beg to differ!" he replied, gesturing to his arm that I always slap. "Any harder and I'll get bruises!"

I crossed my arms and took the stance a parent or school teacher would usually do when scolding a child. "Well, I wouldn't hit you if you would just be a good boy."

Gray stood up as well, making sure Buddy sat down on the wall where he would be safe and not fall off. "I'm not a good boy, you say? When am I never a good boy? Name one thing that I do to not be a perfect child!"

"You don't eat your onions!"

There was a moment of silence before the two of us bursted into laughter. Buddy looked pretty confused, but we were completely aware of what we were doing. We were such children sometimes, it was hilarious. "Man, we entertain ourselves in the weirdest ways possible!" Gray remarked with a fat grin before continuing his laughing.

"How did we get from Natsu's annoyance to onions?" I asked between gleeful giggles.

He shook his head. "I don't even know anymore!"

Buddy watched us enjoying ourselves, blinking with blank eyes. "Oh!" He suddenly perked up. "Buddy remembered what he wanted to ask!"

I looked at him, still smiling from the momentary fit of laughter we had. "What is it, Buddy?"

"When will Buddy and his friends leave for the trip?"

"When these two finish their bonding moment."


	10. Chapter 9

All of us turned to see a familiar old man the size of a six year old child. Master Makarov walked closer to us, a grey eyebrow raised and a mischievous smirk on his face. "Mira told me you two were getting along extremely well for new friends, but this well? Makes a man curious."

I immediately knew what he was talking about, which made me very uncomfortable. It was one thing for Lucy to talk about that stuff, but when a guild master talked like that? I didn't like it at all. Gray was obviously uncomfortable as well; he was gritting his teeth and rubbing the back of his head.

We didn't get to say anything, though, before Buddy jumped up with joy. "Master! Hi Master! Is it time to go?"

Makarov chuckled, giving a little nod. "Yes, we're leaving now. We have no time to waste." He began walking to the train station without another word, the white coat he wore billowing out like a cape. I had to admit, despite his small size, he was still very impressive. He definitely carried himself like a true guild master would.

After that short moment, most of the trip was rather quiet. Of course we talked with each other, but it was mainly about what was expected of us. Apparently, we were going to be in the presence of extremely strong and important people in a Magic Council of sorts, and we had to be as professional as possible. Makarov seemed nervous about it for some reason, but I knew it would be easy to maintain a good impression. All I had to do was behave and I would be fine. I was confident about Gray, too; since it was just the two of us and none of the others, he should be able to keep himself in check. Besides that conversation and a short talk about where we were staying for the night, we were silent. It was a calming silence, perfect for thinking. My head was filled with many different thoughts, but I always gravitated back to the dream I had when I spent the night with Lucy. I didn't normally have dreams, so the fact that I had a nightmare was strange. I still shuttered when the memory of that man's eye came back.

"Tori?" I looked up when Gray shook my shoulder, meeting his worried gaze. "You okay? You seem worried about something."

I quickly shook my head. "No, it's nothing. Just a chill is all."

He lifted an eyebrow. "A chill? When you're wearing that coat? I don't think so." His disbelieving face was replaced with a concerned expression. "Besides, you've been shaking like that since you stopped talking."

"Rii wasn't answering Buddy, either," Buddy piped up, his eyes liquid-like with tears of worry. "He tapped and tapped and called and called her, but she wouldn't answer. He got worried."

I smiled at him, gliding my hand over his head and ears. "I'm sorry, Buddy. I was just lost in thought is all."

"What was Rii thinking about?"

I looked back out the window, resting my chin on the palm of my hand for support. "Oh, a dream I had a little while ago."

This time, it was Buddy who shivered. "Was it a nightmare? Ooh, Buddy hates nightmares! He always wakes up scared and thinking a bad cat will come to get 'im."

I chuckled, gently squishing his cheeks together. "Don't worry, Buddy! I'll keep the bad cats from getting you!"

"Yay!" Buddy cheered, his voice distorted somewhat because of his cheeks. "Buddy lofes bein' fhafe!"

Makarov chuckled. "Buddy, we can't understand you when your cheeks are like that."

The small cat wiggled his head out of my hands and repeated, "Buddy loves being safe! That's what he said."

I smiled at the happy cat as he went to talk with Makarov, now sitting in the seat beside him. I looked back out the window once again, watching as the world flew by. I tried not to think about anything and just focus on the scenery, but the outside resembled so much of the area I saw in my dream. It was almost like I was there again, watching the blur of the land buzz by. It wasn't entirely visible; everything was growing dark and red with the setting sun. When we passed by a large lake, it looked as if it was on fire. It looked like the buildings were on fire, too. My breath caught when the shade of orange began to turn a deep red. It was too similar. All that was missing was an eye...

"Tori!" My head whipped around when I heard Gray yelling again, my thoughts disappearing in an instant. "Damn, how deaf are you when you think?" he asked, his voice stern.

I blinked a couple of times, glancing out the window for a brief moment. Orange? So my mind made it look red? God, I hate nightmares. They mess with the brain too much. "I'm sorry," I replied, shaking my head of any thoughts. "It's just been a tiring few days for me."

The Ice mage stared at me, unsatisfied with my answer.

"Trust me, Fullbuster, I'm fine," I said, smiling convincingly at him.

He still didn't seem to believe me.

Makarov sighed, chuckling at Gray. "Quit being a worrywart, Gray. You're gonna annoy Tori."

Gray looked at his master with a look of denial. "Wha? I'm not being a worrywart!"

Buddy laughed. "Guray worries for Rii too much! Rii's gonna get mad!" He laughed a little more. "Guray's a worrywart!"

"I told you, I'm not a worrywart!"

Makarove piped up again, "You're comin' off as clingy. Loosen up a bit."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

I ended up chuckling a little bit at their behavior, all thoughts of my nightmare fading away. I didn't say anything; I just quietly laughed when Makarov would say something cunning and make Gray get mad. The rest of the ride was pretty much like that - entertaining and enjoyable. It was the twilight hour when we finally stopped at the train station. When we exited at the first stop of our mission, the first thing we wanted to do was get food. Makarov knew of a really amazing yet expensive restaurant that we decided to go to, making this feel more like a vacation rather than a mission. We were given outdoor seats, allowing us to eat through the remainder of the setting sun and into the night. I sat alone for a little while when everyone else disappeared, probably using the restroom. They left me to my thoughts yet again, for a second - or was it third? - time that day. I never did ask Makarov why he decided to take me on this job, but now that I had the chance to think about it, it really made me wonder. Of all the people to pick, why me? I'm definitely not one of the strong members of the guild, like Erza and Mirajane are, and I'm not entirely special in any way. Well, minus my hundred year time skip. So what did he see in the newbie?

"You seem really focused on playing with that cake," I looked up when Makarov returned, sitting in his seat across from me. "Are you sure something isn't bothering you? You haven't been the most talkative person today."

I shook my head. "It isn't bothering me, but I do wonder about it." I pushed the cherry off of the cheesecake I had ordered. "Out of all the mages you could have chosen to take on this mission, why me?"

He sighed, grabbing his flask of beer and chugging the rest of the contents down. "Why did I think you wouldn't ask that question? No matter. I chose you because you're strong."

I shook my head. "I'm nothing compared to your S-Class mages. If you wanted someone strong, you should have picked one of-"

"I didn't say pure strength," he interrupted. "I'm talking about your strong sense of being. Your judgement of people. Your obedience, even. I can tell you to do something for me and you will do it, no questions asked. You can look at a person and tell whether or not we should trust them or not. You never give up on people. If someone was to be put in danger, you would do everything to get them out of it. And if someone is out of your reach or has been defeated, you will avenge them without going completely overboard. These qualities are what I find intriguing about you, and why I chose you to come with me."

I studied his face closely when he said these words before saying, "Convincing excuse, I'll admit. But I want the real reason."

Makarov chuckled. "You can see past even me, huh? Mira said you were good." He grabbed the bottle of red wine on the table, filling his flask up. "I like that reason better than the real one, though."

"I still want to hear it." I replied with a smirk.

He sighed again, spinning the wine around in his cup. "Well... To be honest, you've made me curious about a lot of different things. Just looking at you makes me rethink everything I know. I don't understand why, though."

"Oh?" I lifted my own glass of wine, an eyebrow raised. "What are the things you reconsider?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Magic limitations, history, things like that. You know a lot about magic, but from what I know, you haven't been around a mage in your life."

I swallowed my wine and lowered the glass back to the table. "Not true. My best friends were mages."

"Oh really?"

I nodded, lifting my fork again and cutting off a small bite of cake. "I learned a lot about different types of magic from them. I also happen to read a lot, so I tend to learn a lot more about other areas of expertise from the books I get."

He stared at me for a long while, his eyes narrowed as he focused. I stared back at him, blinking my eyes at him. He finally scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "I don't get it. I can't read you like I read everyone else."

I tilted my head. "Read?"

"Yeah," Makarov rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he spoke, resting his flask of wine on the table. "Read. Normally I can look at a person and learn about them. Their past, their knowledge, their power. If I should trust them or not. That kind of thing. Take uh... Erza for example. When a normal person looks at her, they see a pretty girl in armor that fights for Fairy Tail. When I look at her, I see someone struggling with her emotions about her past and her present. She struggles with looking strong in front of everyone else, and with the stress that's been put on her for this past year, I can't really blame her for wanting to cry sometimes."

I blinked. "Stress from the past year? What's happened?"

He sighed, shaking his head and waving his hand. "Oh, just a bunch of stuff that's happened. Their were two different threats of two different demons, the guild was destroyed in a war, she got stuck in a giant slab of lacrima, she took two hundred lacrima orbs worth of electricity into herself, she-"

"Okay, okay," I interrupted. "I get it. It's been hard for her."

"The point I'm trying to make is that I could tell she's stressed out even if no one else can," Makarov concluded. "But with you, it's like you're a book with no words. Just the pages. I don't know who in the world you are, and it annoys me."

I chuckled, taking yet another bite of my cake. "Well, maybe I'm not a book without words. Because believe me, there's definitely a long story to tell." I closed my eyes. "No, I'm just a book built with a lock. It's going to take a key to open me up. Find the key then you can learn my story."

"Okay, so what's the key?"

I opened one eye, making it look like I was winking at him. A smirked formed on my face, making my mischievous look intensify slightly. "I don't know. Try and find it."

Makarov groaned, pressing his face into the table. "Even your words confuse me! Speak normal, please. My old brain can't keep up."

I laughed slightly. "Oh, there are people even older than you that have better minds. You just need to learn how to make your mind do what you want it to do."

"You're talking as if it controls itself."

"In a way, it does."

He made a noise that sounded somewhat like a whimper. "Tori, you're talking like an old lady!"

I grinned sheepishly. "I'm as confusing and wise as an old person! How interesting!"

Makarov leaned back again, looking up at the sky. It was silent for a long while before he lowered his gaze to me once more. "Can you at least give me a slight hint, Tori? I can't think about anything with this fuzzy of a brain."

"Then don't drink."

"Don't make me laugh."

I shook my head with a chuckle. I then sighed, leaning back in my own chair. "Let's see... How can I tell you a hint without giving me away? Hm... Well, I am a girl seeking peace in the land where she was born in. I am a girl who wants to live a happy life, then join her fallen comrades in the afterlife. And finally, I am a girl that wants to rest easy." I lifted my wine glass to my mouth. "There's your hint. Learn from there, Master Makarov."

He stared at me with furrowing eyebrows for a long while, complete confusion in his face. What confused him? I thought I made it perfectly clear about what I wanted to do with my time. Do what I can to be happy for the remaining days I have, then see my friends in the place where all dead souls go, wherever that was. Maybe he wanted to know more about why my friends died? Well, that would have to wait.

Suddenly, a little brown fur ball came hurdling into my lap. "Master!" Buddy sat up and looked at Makarov with a look I couldn't comprehend. It was filled with excitement, but also worry and uncertainty. "Someone wants to talk to Master!"

Makarov's eyebrow lifted, but he didn't seem too intrigued. "Oh? Interesting. Do you know who it is?"

"A girl with green hair." Buddy looked at the rest of the diner, pointing his paw towards who he was talking about. "There she is! She's following Guray!"

I looked through the diner doors and easily found Gray. It was when I saw the girl that my eyes grew wide and a lump caught in my throat.

Lilia?!


	11. Chapter 10

I stared with eyes of disbelief as a girl came following my teammate. My hands clenched into fists while my mouth hung open. This girl... She looked exactly like my friend Lilia. The same Lilia from the old Fairy Tail. The same Lilia from a hundred years ago. But how is that possible? She should be an old lady or dead by now! How was she here?! My astonishment faded into disarray, and I quickly pulled myself together. No, I can't make it look like I know her. I can't let the others find out my secret.

"Ah, Laenie," Makarov straightened up slightly, a smile of greeting forming on his face. "This is a surprise. I thought we were meeting at the second stop."

"Everyone agreed I should meet you out here," she replied. Taking a closer look at her, I noticed that this girl had many differences that kept her from being my old friend. Her eyes were a chocolate brown rather than a sky blue, and she was much smaller in size. Plus, her voice was smoother than Lilia's; when Lilia talks, it sounds like bells. This girl sounded like cream. Could she be a relative? "That way you can know what you're getting yourself into beforehand."

Makarov chuckled. "Laenie, I already know what I'm getting into. These two brats don't." He looked at Gray and Buddy while stating, "Well, you've already met those two. Hope they were polite enough to you."

The girl named Laenie nodded. "Yes, they were perfectly fine. I can understand why you chose them to come."

"Well good! That makes me more relieved." He then gestured his hand towards me. "This is Tori, the second mage from Fairy Tail I chose." His voice was polite and light-hearted, but his eyes were darker than that. It was impossible to read him, but I had a hunch that he noticed my reaction. "I believe you'll get along with her a lot more than with Gray."

Gray's arms crossed defensively and an eyebrow twitched with irritation. "O-Oi, Gramps, don't start sounding like everyone else."

I smirked at his comment before focusing on Laenie again. It was hard not to feel an ache in my chest when I looked at her. "It's very nice to meet you, Laenie." I said politely, giving a slight bow of my head.

Laenie smiled kindly at me, also bowing her head in greeting. "Pleasure's all mine, Tori-san. I'm looking forward to working with you." She turned back to Makarov, saying, "Makarov-san, I'm not entirely sure if you told your members any information on this job except for they had to accompany you."

He shook his head. "Nope. I've said nothing."

"Alright then," She sat down in the chair Gray was sitting in for the meal before continuing. "Well, this dilemma has concerned the Council for a couple of months now. In a small town about two or three days from here, a problem has emerged. Nobody knows what exactly is going on, and the people that go in don't come back out. We haven't been able to gain any communications from anyone in the town at all, travelers, citizens, or officials. Our job is to go in and find out what exactly the problem is and how to fix it."

"You're suspecting Mind Control magic?" Makarov asked, sitting up completely to show his interest in the matter.

"I can see why you chose a guild master to do the assignment." I said, taking the final sip of my wine. "If a whole town is completely silent to all outside sources, and if the Council has sent in people already that haven't returned, then this must be extremely dangerous for even S-Class mages."

Laenie nodded. "But the Council still wants some of our own people to go in as well. So me and a couple of others will be following close behind."

Gray sighed. "That big, huh?"

Buddy moved closer to me, gripping my coat. "Buddy thought he was nervous before. Now he's scared."

I stroked his head and smiled. "Don't worry, Buddy. There's nothing to be scared of."

He shook his head. "Dunno... It sounds scary."

Laenie smiled. "You don't like being in danger?"  
>Another shake of the head. "Buddy wants his friends to stay safe. He doesn't like when they get in danger."<p>

Her smile grew wider. "You remind me of my grandmother. She always worried about me when I left home for my job. But I always went back safe, in the end."

Buddy allowed a smile to cross his face. "Buddy's friends will come back, too, right?"

I hugged my friend tightly. "Of course we will! We won't abandon the people we care about."

He grinned again, returning to his happy nature. "Uh-huh~! Buddy's friends are strong! They'll always come back to him, no matter what gets in their way!"

Makarov's chuckle made my attention divert to him. "I can see why he travels with you, Tori. He's probably one of the sweetest Exceeds I've ever seen." He focused back on Laenie again. "Will you be riding the train with us tomorrow?"

She nodded, standing up. "I'll be staying at your hotel as well. It's safer for us to stay close. If you need anything, just come find me." She bowed slightly in farewell before disappearing back in the diner. I couldn't help but notice that her face looked rather sad on the way out.

It wasn't long before the rest of us left as well. The hotel was close by, so it wasn't too long of a walk. We split up immediately after we got inside, Makarov going to do his own thing while Gray and I were left to find our room. Yes, I said _our _room. We were sharing rooms. With the limited money Makarov gave us, we couldn't go wasting it on two separate rooms. The room was average on size, but extremely nice and cozy. There was only one bed, but it was big enough for us to have our space. The bathroom was nice, too, and there was a balcony for us to gain some fresh air. Buddy seemed to like the arrangement, since he loved both my company and Gray's.

I was the first human to take a bath, coming after Buddy's. I left Gray to play with the fur ball for a while - give them some bonding time and all that. It was extremely relaxing to just lay and think for a while, especially after all of the craziness that recently happened. I was quick to get out, though, since Gray still had to bathe. For some reason, the conversation I had with Lucy kept coming back to me: _"You two are getting pretty close, huh?" "You two do look pretty cute." _Why did she believe there was something between us? Were we really getting so close that people thought there was something going on? But an even bigger question than those crossed my mind. Why was it bugging me so much?

I walked out of the bathroom and smiled when I saw the two boys. Gray was laying on the bed, Buddy fast asleep beside him. He looked up and smiled at me, pressing his finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. I made my way to the bed as silently as possible, sitting down on the other side of Buddy. As he immediately moved to lay closer to me, I couldn't help but grin at the small cat. I looked up when I heard a chuckle come out of Gray. "What?" I muttered, knowing very well that Buddy would remain asleep through any conversation.

"You two are so attached to each other," he replied. "It really is like a mother and son relationship."

I shrugged, stroking Buddy's back to relax his sleeping form just a little bit more. "I care about him greatly. If that means I'm like his mother, then so be it." I allowed myself to smirk. "You care about him just as much as I do. Does that mean you're like his dad in a way?"

"I don't hear him calling me Dad."

"Well, he doesn't call me Mom."

"I beg to differ."

I blinked, tilting my head to the side. "Huh?"

Gray rolled onto his side so he could talk to me as well as pet Buddy's head. "Earlier, when you were taking a bath, we were talking about you. He called you his mom."

I blinked repeatedly at him before looking down at Buddy. "He... did?"

He nodded. "I even asked him about it. He said that he loves you so much that he thinks of you as his mother." He chuckled again. "He talked about all of your good qualities until he fell asleep."

A large smile formed on my face as I watched the small creature sleep, his paw beginning to grip my night shirt. I scratched behind his ears, making him purr softly. "I guess I do baby him a little bit, huh?"

"A little bit?"

I scoffed. "Yes. A little bit. Only a little bit. Nothing more than that."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Sure. Let's go with that." His sarcasm shifted to the kindness he held before. "It's actually pretty sweet, how you care for him so much."

"It's sweet?"

"Yeah," He focused most of his attention on me now, no longer petting Buddy and now just talking to me. "It shows me a soft side to you that you didn't let me see when you first showed up." As he moved to stand up, his face grew rather close to mine. "It's kinda cute, actually, seeing you being so caring to him." He disappeared into the bathroom before I could even register his words.

I stared at nothing for the longest of time, allowing my mind to recover. Did he basically call me... Cute? Me? Cute? My chest tightened slightly, which surprised me. I never got anxious just because someone told me their personal opinion about me. _"You don't... _like _Gray-sama, do you?" _The question Juvia asked me went flying through my mind. Of course I don't like him! Why in the world would I like him? We were just friends... Teammates... Right?

"Right?"

I slowly stood up from the bed, making sure not to wake Buddy up in the process, and walked out onto the balcony. I breathed in the fresh air, immediately relaxing. The outdoors always calmed me down, probably because of my connection to nature. I leaned on the railing and looked out at the town around us. There were lights all over the place, probably to aid the wandering tourists that stopped by. It was rather cool, seeing how everything has improved through my absence.

"It's pretty out here, huh?"

I looked to my left and smiled at Laenie, who was standing on the other balcony beside me. I nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's very pretty."

Laenie leaned on her own rail, brushing her green hair out of her face. "I always like to come outside and look at the lights. The farther away they are, the prettier they get. My grandmother and I used to stare out at the capital city every time I visited her."

I blinked at her. "Your grandmother?" I hesitated before asking, "By any chance, is your grandmother Lilia Valentine?"

She nodded. "Yes, that's her. How do you know her?"

"Oh, I helped her a few times," I replied calmly. "I haven't seen her in a while, though. How is she?"

Her face saddened a bit. "She died about a month ago. Her old age finally got to her."

I felt my heart tighten again. "Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

Laenie's smile returned as she shook her head. "It's okay. It was for the best. She was really old, and she was just waiting for the day of her departure with eagerness." She looked up at the night sky. I could have sworn her eyes were watering. "Besides, she's with all of her friends now. She's happier where she is."

I also looked up at the stars. With all of her friends, huh? I guess not all of them are with her - I'm still here. To be honest, I felt envious. She's up there with everyone, smiling and laughing with them, while I'm still alive and alone in a new world entirely. "She treasured her friends, didn't she?" I asked, mainly thinking aloud.

Laenie nodded again. "Yes, she did. She was looking forward to seeing them again." She chuckled. "Even on her deathbed she was still positive."

A sad smile crossed my lips. "That sounds like her." I looked at her again. "You remind me of her."

A chuckle escaped the young lady. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I look exactly like she did at my age, so people always remember her when they see me."

"Well, almost exactly."

She tilted her head. "Huh?"

I pointed to my eyes. "The color of your eyes are different. Yours are brown. Hers were blue."

Laenie seemed puzzled for a moment before she grinned. "You must really know my grandmother if you can point that out. Especially since her eyes changed colors rather often."

"The eyes are the most important thing on the human body," I replied. "They express your hidden emotions, explain the person without a word being shared, and expose the truths and lies." I leaned back slightly to stretch my back, holding onto the rail in front of me so I wouldn't fall backwards. "Lilia's eyes were kind and enjoyable. She never told lies. She was one of the sweetest girls I've met." I looked down at the ground below. "It's a shame I didn't get to see her before she died. Do you know where she's buried?"

"Magnolia's graveyard, I think."

I nodded. "Alright. I know what I'm doing when I get home."

Laenie studied me a moment before saying, "You know, you're different from most people I know."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You're older."

I scoffed. "Well, that isn't accurate at all. Have you seen how old Master Makarov is?"

She chuckled. "No, I mean you're wiser than most. Most older people are experienced with the world and the people found. Their speech and opinions show it. You speak like you've been alive for many years; the way you talk makes you seem wiser than your actual age."

I shrugged. "I've been through a lot in my lifetime. It would make sense if I sounded like an old lady." I looked back at her with a smile. "But remember, some old people aren't as wise as others say. Depending on the individual, even a crying infant is more intellectual."

"I'll keep that in mind." Laenie stretched her arms into the air before turning to her door. "Well, it's been a long day for me. I'm off to bed." She smiled happily at me. Her eyes seemed brighter, more open. "Goodnight, Tori-san."

"Sleep well, Laenie." I waved as she entered her room before looking back up at the stars. _You must have taught your granddaughter well, Lilia. She's a great girl._

_***_

_My lungs hurt from all of the running I was doing. The thick smoke choked and burned with every breath I took. I wanted to stop, take a quick rest to relax my aching body. But I couldn't, not when _he _was chasing me. But even with the running I was doing, I couldn't lose him._

_The familiar red flames surrounded me, burning everything in sight. The trees, the grass, the buildings... All of it burned. My eyes stung and blurred constantly, but I didn't let that stop me. With every painful breath, I forced myself to run faster. But even with my efforts, I couldn't run away. From him, or my emotional pain._

_To my right were pastures and small buildings. All of it was ash, including my old Fairy Tail guild hall. My friends from back then lay dead, turning into the ground they died on. To my left were trees and tall, stone houses and shops. Just like on my right, everything was being destroyed. My new friends, my new family... All of them died in these bloody flames. Only two remained alive, and they were in front of me. They were alive somehow. A brown cat, and a handsome blacked-haired man. I called out to them and they began running towards me. If I could reach them, I could escape. We could live, survive. All I had to do was reach them. . ._

"You can't win."

***

I was greeted by darkness when I forced my eyes to open. Did I scream? I probably did. I wouldn't know. My heart was pounding, my breathing was harsh, and my body was trembling. Even when I was awake it was like I was still there, burning in that red fire. I jumped when I felt hands on my shoulders, a terrified squeal escaping me. I couldn't hear any words through the screams of the dying people in my ears. But when my eyes finally adjusted and I began to slowly return to reality, the dark, extremely worried eyes of my friend met me. I didn't say a word - I just stared at him. It took a little time for me to realize he was talking.

"Tori?" Gray's hand rested on my cheek as he fretted, his other hand gliding up and down my arm to try and calm me down. I wasn't sure if he asked me a question or not, but he seemed to be waiting for a response.

I couldn't say a thing. The fear flowing through me was too much. Before I realized it, I found myself leaning into him. My face buried into his shoulder, and my arms wrapped around him. My body began shaking uncontrollably, showing my fear clearly.

I felt Gray's strong arms wrap around me, holding me close to him. "It's okay, Tori," he cooed, stroking my hair comfortingly. "Everything's alright. It was just a dream. That's all it was. Just a bad dream."

Was I crying? It wouldn't be surprising if I was. I wasn't making a sound, but I could feel the moisture on his skin. I didn't want to let go; he was so warm and comforting. It really helped me calm down, sitting in his arms like that. I eventually pulled away, though, so I could be sure I was completely calm again. I didn't even care his arms were still around me. His comfort was what I really needed, embraces included. "I-I think I'm okay now." I muttered, wiping my face off as best as I could.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone get that scared because of a nightmare," He glided his thumb under my eye to catch some of the remaining tears. "Was it really that bad?"

I nodded once. I bit my lip to try and keep my leftover emotions at bay before talking again. "My friends... Every single one of them were dying right in front of me. My old ones... And the ones from the guild." My hands moved to rest on his shoulders. "Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Mira... Everyone was burning. I... I couldn't make it to you and Buddy in time..." My body collapsed into him again. "I hated watching it... It... It was..."

"Shh," Gray held onto me again, now rubbing my back. "Don't talk about it anymore. Just relax."

I calmed myself down again, but I didn't move. I allowed him to continue comforting me. We sat there in silence before I finally pulled away again. My eyes were growing heavy, and I couldn't hold back the yawn that escaped me. Before I realized it, Gray was laying me back down. He continued to hold me, and if anything he pulled me closer. "H-Hey-"

"You're still terrified," he interrupted. "Just lay like this for a little bit until you're ready to go to sleep."

I blinked repeatedly, surprised, but I didn't resist. I turned my head when I felt movement by my back. When I saw Buddy, I just smiled weakly at him. We didn't say any words at all, but he understood that I would be okay. He curled up behind me, pressing up against my back. I softly sighed as relaxation slowly filled me, and my eyes began to close. The warmth from Gray's body lulled me right to sleep.

We didn't have long to rest, though. It was only a few hours later when I woke for a second time. Gray was already up and getting ready, Buddy keeping him company. There weren't a lot of words exchanged when I started moving around. Maybe we wanted to keep the peace that greeted us? Maybe. I was just grateful I didn't have to talk at all. Talking during the night made me cry. Who knows what it would have done this time.

Gray finally spoke when the three of us were exiting the room. "Feeling better?" he asked, his voice a little dull since it was morning, but still full of concern.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I smiled at him. "Thanks. You know, for keeping me calm. It really helped."

He smiled back at me, his exhaustion slowly fading from his eyes. "No problem."

I looked at Buddy, who was by my feet. "And thank you, Buddy, for being there to help comfort me."

Buddy grinned happily and said, "Buddy was happy to be there for Mama when she was crying! He's glad she's feeling better today!"

Mama? I chuckled at his new name for me, scooping him up into my arms. "Come on, let's get some food before we all die of starvation."

"Okay~!"

Gray moved to walk directly beside me, whispering into my ear, "Told ya he called you that, _Mama Rii_."

"Oh, shush," I replied with the usual smacking of his arm. "I never said he didn't."

"You thought it, though."

"Hey!" I turned around to see Laenie running towards us. "Do you mind if I walk down with you? I don't want to leave without other mages around."

I tilted my head to the side. "Of course you can join us. But what's keeping you from going on your own?"

"Some of the people we're hunting are down there."


	12. Chapter 11

All relaxation faded from the small group when Laenie announced this. "Are you serious?" Gray asked. "I thought we weren't supposed to see them until the second stop!"

"That was the original plan," she said. "They shouldn't even have people this far out. But from what Makarov-san told me, they're apparently trying to 'spread their teachings' or something like that."

I blinked. "Spread their teachings?"

"They're cultists."

Ohh, now that makes a lot more sense. Cultists are known for their magic and how powerful said magic can get. If an entire town has lost connection to the outside world, then these people are definitely the causes, no questions asked. "If the town they came from is two days away from here, then why try to persuade people this far out?"

"This is the only large tourist spot in this direction," Laenie explained, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "Every other stop is tiny with barely any people there. Everyone that is around those stops are probably very religious, and won't think of leaving for some group and their rather recent beliefs."

Gray looked down the hall towards the stairs. "So a bunch of crazy mages are here talking about a god they believe in at a place where people like who they worship. Is Gramps dealing with them, or is he just watching and listening?"

"Probably the latter," I answered. "If we're going to the place where their entire organization is, then I'm assuming he'll want to tail them."

Laenie nodded. "Yes, that's what he suggested. It really depends on if they decide to go back to their town or not."

We all went silent when we heard footsteps on the stairs. It was tense at first, but when we saw it was Makarov, relaxation filled the hall again. "Ah, good, you're all up." He smirked up at me, then at Gray. "Sleep well, you two?" We hesitated only for a moment before he said with a teasing tone, "Of course you did." His cheerful demeanor faded away and was replaced with serious determination. "I'm assuming you heard from Laenie about what's going on with the idiots downstairs. I've decided that we're skipping the second stop, which means we'll be sleeping on the train."

"Are we gonna tail them to the town?" Gray asked.

He shook his head. "No. By how they're talking to each other and the other people in the lobby, it sounds like they'll be going the opposite way. But that might just be a good thing; it will give us a lot more relaxation while we're there."

Laenie's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would that relax us?"

"They saw me already and tried to invite me into their cult," he explained. "If they see me there, they'll think I changed my mind and they'll force me to join. Naturally you all would be dragged in as well, and we won't get anywhere." He began walking towards his room, stopping in front of the door to say, "Pack up and grab something quick to eat. I want to get on the train as soon as possible."

It was the second day on the train without stopping, and it was now that my stomach decided to turn against me. I could ride any transportation for a couple of hours without complaint, but if I was on board for too long, I would get sick. This was one of those times. Letralux told me it was a Dragon Slayer thing - the only downside to having such control over an element.

I leaned on the wall of the train, my stomach absolutely killing me. It took most of my strength to not vomit all over the napping cat in my lap. I couldn't even move my head to look at people it hurt so much. But just in my line of sight was Makarov, who was smirking at me in a mischievous way. "What?" I mustered, my teeth clenched so I wouldn't upchuck anything.

"Oh, nothing," he replied in such a fake voice it almost hurt. "You're just reminding me of Natsu is all."

"Oi," Gray's voice was hard and irritated. "Don't compare her to that flaming idiot. Just because she's motion sick doesn't mean she's like him in any way."

"Alright, alright, no need to bark at me," Makarov chuckled. He turned to talk to me again. "Say, Tori, you do look pretty miserable like that. I bet that wall is making it worse for you since more motion is coming from there. Why don't you use Gray as a pillow instead?"

I stared at him, not liking the smirk he used. But still, he was right about the wall. It made my head throb. Even though movement hurt just as much as sitting still, if not more, I lifted my head off of the wall before resting it on Gray's shoulder. The throbbing in my head went away rather quickly now that there wasn't a pounding surface beside it, and it was much more comfortable. I would've fallen asleep if the Master's laughter didn't make my eyes open and my irritation grow. "What now?"

Makarov chuckled for a little longer before he said, "I finally get what Mira was talking about when she said you two were getting along."

If it wasn't for my motion sickness, I would have silenced him then and there. But I couldn't, so I just glared.

"Makarov-san," Laenie finally spoke up after being silent for almost the entire trip. "I think we're almost there." Oh, yay! I can get off of this hell ride! "What are we going to start with? Finding the cultists or booking some hotel rooms?"

"Neither," he replied. "The first think we'll do is mingle with the townsfolk. Learn what's going on around town, ask about unusual things, stuff like that. I want you all to meet back at the hotel we're staying at by nine and tell me what you've learned."

"We're not traveling in a group?"  
>"No," Makarov stretched his tiny arms up into the air, popping a bunch of his joints. "The rest of your group will go with you, while Tori and Gray travel around on their own. I don't want those two to be discovered as Fairy Tail mages, since that could interfere with the people and their trust. Traveling with me will be a dead giveaway."<p>

I squeezed my eyes shut and began biting my lip as the train slowed. The slowing of the vehicle was always the worst part, since my body couldn't adjust quick enough. But as it finally stopped, my nausea began to fade and I returned to normal. "Okay," I stood up and popped my back a bit as if I woke up from a nap. "Talk to townsfolk about strange things, meet at a hotel by nine o'clock, don't expose Fairy Tail connections. Got it."

"Do we have any limits on what we can do?" Gray asked, grabbing both my bag and his from below the seats.

"Don't get killed."

I smirked. "Aw, I don't get to die? That takes all of the fun out of everything." I caught Buddy when he jumped for me, my sarcasm receding. "Don't worry, we'll be careful."

"He he he, we'll see who's laughing when they have their head on a stick!" he called after us as we ran off the train as quickly as possible.

The town was a lot older than I thought it would be. It was almost like I was in my time again. It was soothing, in a way. We walked around for a while, just to get a feel for the place. The buildings were small and crumbling, but how they were decorated was what made them almost beautiful. There were stone walls around the entire perimeter, almost like this was a place fearing for enemy attacks. As we got further and further away from the train station, everything just kept getting older and older. The ground itself was more familiar to me the deeper we went. While Buddy and Gray were intrigued and excited, I was confused. Why was this place so familiar to me?

I stopped walking when we came up to a large wall jutting out from beside one of the large houses. I ran down the small hill leading to it, running close to the mossy cobblestone I remembered. I leaned in and smiled when I saw faint writing from who knows how long ago. I wrote these passages with Mavis before Fairy Tail even existed yet. It was written in an ancient language we found while exploring an abandoned house, kept in a book of legends. Did Mavis keep that book for her remaining years?

"What's this?" I looked behind me when Gray came walking up, poking his head over my shoulder so he could see what I was looking at.

"Something my friend and I wrote," I replied, moving some of the moss off of the old letters. "We wrote it when we first met and became friends."

Buddy jumped onto my back and looked over my other shoulder. "Buddy can't read it."

Gray moved some more moss out of the way as if he believed it would help. "What does it say?"

I had the words memorized completely, but I still read from the wall. "_Έχ? βρει ένα φίλο. Έτσι τώρα δεν θα την αφήσει να πάει._ 'I have found a friend. So now I will not let her go.'" I translated the first line, then pointed to the second one. "_Ούτε βούληση I. Επειδή μου θησαυρός οι φίλοι μου._ 'Neither will I. Because I treasure my friends.'"

Buddy grinned. "Mama's voice sounds pretty when she speaks a different language!"

I laughed a little, allowing him to rub his cheek against mine. "Thank you, Buddy."

"It's really cool, how you wrote that in an ancient language," Gray complimented. "How long did it take you to know how to write it?"

"We found a book with that alphabet inside," I replied, lowering Buddy to the small river so he could play around. "When we wrote that, we had the book to help us. I memorized the whole language a little while after."

He shook his head, smiling. "I couldn't learn a whole language like that one in a short amount of time. It seriously seems impossible."

"Well, I had a lot more free time back then." I forced my eyes to look away from the wall so I could see the person I was talking to. "If you want, I can teach you some of the phrases."

"Training _and _vocab lessons?" Gray spun around so he could lean against the wall. "I dunno. Either this is going to be too much fun to handle or too much hell to handle."

I scoffed. "My training isn't that harsh! Better than Erza's, after all."

"It has its moments."  
>I shook my head. "Well, aren't you nice." I, too, began leaning against the wall. "Tell you what. I'll make learning a new language as much fun as possible so you won't complain about that, too."<p>

Gray smirked. "Thank you very much, Tori-sensei."

I rolled my eyes and just barely shoved him with my arm. We ended up in a rather fun shoving fight, pushing each other to and fro without actually hurting each other. I ended up getting him in a position where I rubbed the knuckles of my hand on his head, messing up his hair greatly. He managed to get out, but before he could do anything, I was off running. Of course he went chasing me, running after me all around the area. Buddy cheered for me to get away at times, then at others he would encourage Gray to catch me. Me being nimble, I climbed up on walls and narrow fences to escape the Ice mage's grasp. But in the end, he finally caught up to me. He quickly wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up, spinning me around a couple of times and keeping a tight grip on me as I trashed about, both of us laughing happily. When he put me down after our spinning, I was now facing him instead of having my back to him. We continued laughing for a while before it died off.

We were now smiling at each other, Gray's arms still around me from when he lifted me up, and my hands on his chest from when I lightly pushed him again. We were just smiling, nothing else. I couldn't help but meet his eyes. They were filled with so much joy and excitement, it made me even happier. But as we stared at each other, his eyes melted into something warmer. Something more confusing. I didn't know why, but my chest tightened when I saw how calm his eyes were. They were almost soft, in a way. I then focused not on just his eyes, but his entire face. His smile, although small, was still very meaningful. If anything, that was the best smile I've seen on his face minus the one he gave me two weeks previous. I was confused as to why I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest, but I didn't focus on it. I couldn't focus on anything except that smile and that emotion in his eyes.

The ringing of a large bell came to our ears, forcing me back to reality and out of his gaze. The toll rang out all over the town. In only a few short moments, people began running through the old streets towards a large structure in the distance. It looked like a cathedral in a way. A rather new one at that. I pulled away from Gray to take a few steps towards the building, my head tilted to the side. Why would a new building be so far in the older part of this town?

"Hey!" The grip of someone's hand on my arm made me lose my focus on the building. My gaze locked on a young lady no older than sixteen appearing to be rather confused. "Why are you standing here? You're going to be late to hear His words!"

I blinked repeatedly. "Um... I'm sorry, who's words?"

Immediately, the look of confusion left her face. "Ah, you must be new here. Invited by our Brothers, I assume?" She pointed at the cathedral in the distance. "That building there is our Lord's home. Once a day, He opens His doors and allows us inside the holy building's courtyard. He grants the wishes of His citizens and loyal followers, then allows us inside to pray." She began pulling me without warning, trying to take me towards the building. "When the bell stops ringing, our Lord comes outside! It's supposed to be good luck if we see Him come outside before He begins! And if we wait any longer, we won't make it in time!"

Her hand was suddenly ripped off of my arm by Gray. "Go on ahead of us," he told her politely. "We'll catch up."

The girl would have protested, but instead she went running again.

I rubbed my arm, which was now turning red at the spot where she grabbed me. For a young lady, she had a tough grip. "Man, does she have Gajeel's hands?" I asked before I looked up at Gray. "Well? What do you think?"

He thought a moment before saying, "I think I wanna go see what this lord business is."

As soon as I snatched Buddy from the stream, we went running along with all of the other people. As we grew closer to the giant building, it was harder not to run into eager civilians who desperately wanted to see their 'god'. I grew more and more curious the closer we got. People were pushing us around so much, I had to cling to Gray's arm just so we wouldn't be separated.

The harsh motions halted and all the noise silenced as the chiming bell began to fade away. The giant doors leading into the building slowly opened, revealing several people wearing matching robes of purple and black. They wore black crow masks over their faces, hiding their identities. Everyone began to bow down as they emerged, collapsing onto their knees and bending deeply. Gray and I had no other choice but to follow from example.

"All of the blood and spirit!" a booming voice rang out over the courtyard. "Sound your prayers to Synldin, our Lord and Savior!"

The entire town erupted in one giant prayer in a language I never knew existed. Some would sit up straight and clap their hands together before bowing back down again. I glanced at Gray with the most puzzled face in the world. It was like I was looking in a mirror when I met his gaze; he was as confused as I was. I looked back up at the staircase leading into the building where the cultists stood. How in the world did these people manage to convince all of these innocent souls to believe in something as strange as this?

The bell rang once, silencing every single person in that clearing. Everyone remained bowed down, but their heads were looking up towards the doors. The priests turned to face each other before backing up, creating a pathway of some kind. Walking out from the darkness of the cathedral was probably the tallest, most intimidating man I have ever seen. He was cloaked in purple, black, and white. His insanely long grey hair blew out like a cape behind him as he walked forward. A silver amulet with a black sun on it hung from his neck, glimmering in the setting sun's light. He stopped walking when he was at the stairs, looking out with insanely icy blue eyes at the crowd. He suddenly smiled, and his eyes grew kind. "My brothers and sisters!" He spoke as he lifted his arms up in the air, his soothing, velvety voice ringing out throughout the courtyard. "Welcome! Welcome to my home once again for another day of happiness! Rise, my family, and smile!"

Everyone stood up happily, some slowly rising, some jumping up as quickly as possible. Gray and I were one of the first ones to stand up; I bet his back hurt as much as mine did from that long period of bowing. Excited murmurs flew through the crowd as they gawked up at the man before them. His name was Synldin, right? That's what he called himself? An interesting name for someone that was supposed to bring hope. In all of the languages I've studied, that name - rather, that word in general - did not mean 'hope'. Not at all. It meant death.

"It has been another, lovely day," Synldin spoke again, his smile slightly smaller than before. "But even in the happiness that's flowed through our streets, I have sensed tears, anger, and concern. I believe, there are some people that need their wishes granted." He held his hand out to someone up front, his smile turning into a grin. "Madame Melanie, join me." A middle aged woman grabbed Synldin's hand, walking up the steps and joining him. Her face seemed rather astonished, as if this was the scariest yet greatest thing that has happened to her. "Madame Melanie, you have been coming to our sermons for six months now, but I believe I have not granted you a single wish. For that, I apologize. But today, I shall grant you anything you desire."

The woman, Melanie, hesitated for a moment before running down the steps again. She returned with a bundle of blankets. She spoke to Synldin, her voice not nearly as loud as the man's was. But luckily for me, I could still hear her; "My son, Jasper. He is two weeks old and dying. I love him greatly, and I don't want him to die. Not at this age. Please, my Lord, please save my son's life."

Synldin's smile did not waver. What, was he actually expecting he could save a dying child? Nobody could go against a destined death. It was impossible, even for saints. He turned back to the crowd and announced, "My friends, Madame Melanie has requested her wish! Her wish is to save her dying son from his destined fate. Tell me, my brothers and sisters, do you believe I can accomplish this task?" Almost every single person in the courtyard shouted "Yes!" at the top of their lungs. I heard Gray's scoff through the cheering, nodding along with his disbelief.

However, my eyes widened when a green light formed from the bundle of blankets. Synldin gently took the child from Melanie's arms and rocked him back and forth, the green light growing and growing in strength. Underneath all of the light, I noticed his amulet shaking slightly, a glimmer of green filling the black sun. I could tell everyone was watching the light instead of the amulet, so only I noticed that it was effected as well. After a moment, the light faded and left the area in silence. Everyone waiting for something to happen, waiting for the wish to either come true or fail miserably. The sudden sound of a baby's cry filled the area before cheers sounded again. A baby crying. That was the signal that the child was perfectly healthy.

What the hell?

"Our beloved Jasper will live a happy life!" Synldin announced, a fat grin on his face. "He is safe and healthy! Everything is as it has been made to be!" He handed Melanie her child, planted a kiss on her forehead, then allowed her to return to the crowd. "Another wish has been granted! A blessing has been added to our large pile of happiness!" He lowered his arms, his smile shifting from a grin to a calm smile. "My friends, the time has come. I am requesting that you, all of you, come inside my beloved home. Become one with me, and live happily forevermore." He lifted his left arm into the air. "I bid you farewell, my family! Until we meet again!" As everyone bowed deeply to him, he turned around and walked back into the building. The priests followed close behind, but instead of the door closing, it remained open.

As everyone began mingling with each other, I immediately turned to Gray. "Please say you saw that amulet." I said to him, my face stern and my eyes cold.

He nodded, his expression the same. "Yeah. I saw it."

I looked back up at the doors, a harsh anger rising in me. That amulet around his neck wasn't just for show. The green light that radiated from it was a type of illusion magic. He didn't grant any type of wish whatsoever. He created an illusion of a healthy child being born from a dying one. Synldin was not a god at all. He was a liar.

"Gray-san! Tori-san!" I spun around and smiled when I saw Laenie running over to us. Her face was just as cold as ours was. "You two saw the amulet, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, we did. We're pretty pissed about it."

She stared directly at the two of us, paying no attention to anyone else. "That was a specific amulet created by someone back when the dragons were still terrorizing Fiore. I can't remember all of the details right now, but that amulet is extremely dangerous."

"So, what, do you want us to get it from him?" Gray asked. "We can't really do that when he's surrounded by all of his priests.

Laenie sighed. "I know, I know. I don't want you to get it from him. Not yet, anyway." She shook her head. "No, what I want you to do is find out what he's doing with it. I want to know why he's creating all of these illusions to fool these people into believing in miracles." She looked behind her, biting her lip before turning back to us. "I have to go now. I need to gather my own information about Synldin from the people. Please, do what you can to get information about that amulet. But please, don't get killed!" She began to run off just as she was finished speaking, but I quickly grabbed her arm. "Tori-san?" she asked, looking at me with a confused look. "What is it?"

I hesitated just for a few seconds before I said, "Take Buddy with you."

Buddy looked up at me from where he was by my feet. "What?!" he asked, completely shocked. "No! Buddy wants to stay with Mama! He wants to help her!"

I got down on my knees beside him, placing my hand on his head. "Buddy, listen carefully," I said, smiling at him. "I need you to go with Laenie and get somewhere safe. Go to the hotel if you can. Stay there, and don't look for us."

"Tori-san, what are you-"

"Just take him, Laenie," Gray interrupted the young girl, understanding completely what I was doing. "Get him to the hotel. He'll be safe, since Makarov is there."

Buddy shook his head vigorously. "No no no no no! Buddy's staying with Mama! Buddy's staying with-"

I picked him up and quickly gave him to Laenie, who held onto him tightly through his thrashing. "Buddy, please," My voice was suddenly sad, which made the brown cat stop completely. "You know I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for your own good."

He stared at me for a long while with sad eyes before he nodded. "Okay. Buddy understands now." He lowered his head, trying not to cry. "Just come back, okay? Mama promised she'd come back. Always."

I nodded, kissing him on his head. "Always." I nodded in farewell to Laenie, who immediately went running into the crowd towards the gates. I looked at Gray, my stone-hard gaze returned. "You're up for it, aren't you?"

He nodded. "I'm up for anything."

We both turned towards the doors leading into the cathedral. We waited just for a moment before walking towards them. We established that the only way to gain the information Laenie wanted was to go inside. Through the front doors. Where we would have to do whatever it was everyone else was doing. So, that's what we were going to do.

We were going into an angelic hell.


	13. Chapter 12

Despite all of the dedication the people had, there were very few that wanted to go inside the actual building. They said it was because of morals and "maintaining the sanctity of the Holy House." In my opinion, I think they're scared of something. But even if the people were scared, there were still plenty that had the guts. Mainly travelers like ourselves.

The priests kept a careful watch over all of us that walked through the door. I could feel their dangerous eyes glaring through the crow masks they wore. All the other people that entered seemed uncomfortable, so much that they were shaking. I, on the other hand, gained even more courage. I even glared back at one of the monks. He didn't seem to enjoy my confidence and complete lack of fear.

Even if the priests were my main focus, I couldn't help but admire the building. The inside was dark, only being lit by the setting sunlight and small candles. Purple banners hung on the walls, holding the picture of a black sun. There were hallways on both sides of us, but they were narrow. It left the main room giant and impressive. On the other end of the room was a statue of Synldin, reaching the top of the wall in height. Definitely the largest statue I've ever seen in a cathedral. Hundreds of candles surrounded the silver god, and behind his head was a ginormous banner with that same sun design on it. Many of the monks were by the statue, praying to their Lord Synldin. For some reason, they seemed much more... Alive than the others. They moved more like humans, while the ones that came outside were as still as ghosts.

I looked up at Gray when I felt him tap my shoulder. He pointed down a hallway on the right, where some citizens that had finished praying were headed. It was heavy with priests; they stood like suits of armor along the walls, still and silent. It was creepy in a way. "How much you wanna bet that hall leads to the room Synldin is in?" Gray whispered.

"Only one way to find out." I muttered before looking back at the statue. It seemed like the only way to go down that hallway was to pray. However, it seemed like there was a right and wrong prayer to them. When someone was finished, a priest would ask what their 'wish' was. The people that prayed correctly were told to walk down that hall. The people that prayed for something revolving around themselves, or even if they mentioned the words 'I' or 'me' in their answer, they were politely told to leave.

Finally, it was my turn. Just like everyone before me, I sat on my knees and pressed my hands together. I didn't exactly pray for anything, but I sat long enough to make it believable. I bowed to signal I was finished, then I stood. I felt slightly dizzy, probably because of all the candles around me. The fumes took its toll.

The authority of the priests walked forward. "What was the wish you sent to The Lord?"

I stood calmly, looking through his mask to lock my eyes with his. "Eternal peace in Fiore, and the abandonment of evil."

He stared at me for probably a little too long. His icy eyes did not waver from mine. It was almost as if he didn't believe I prayed. I didn't, but there wasn't any real way he could know. He finally pointed to the hallway. "Go. Go join your fellow brothers and sisters."

I said no word of thanks like the others did. I simply bowed to him before walking into the hall. The people along the walls didn't acknowledge me, and they didn't seem to care when I waited for Gray. He took a fair amount of time, and easily fooled the priest. I didn't listen for his answer, but he was immediately allowed through. We walked silently towards the end of the entire building. There was a passage leading deeper into the back half of the cathedral, but there were priests blocking the way, so I wouldn't be able to get through even if I tried.

At the end of the hall, we reunited with the other handful of people chosen to come back here. Among them was the young woman that directed us to the building. As soon as she saw us, she quickly ran other with the largest smile on her face. "You two made it! I thought for a while you didn't come to the service at all!"

I shrugged casually, hiding my discomfort towards the place rather well. "We came here to learn all about the city. We couldn't miss anything."

"Quite the sermon," Gray added, crossing his arms. "Definitely different from most things I've seen. I haven't ever found a religion with a living human being the god."

She blinked rapidly at him. "It might be different from the lesser practices, but Lord Synldin is truly the real god. You've witnessed his power with your own eyes. There's no possible way you don't believe."

"Yes, what he did was truly remarkable," I lied. It would be amazing if I didn't know it was his amulet doing all of the work. "But he wasn't here the last time I visited. When did he arrive?"

"Our Lord found us in ruins last year," an elderly woman answered from where she stood a few feet away. "We were a crumbling civilization. He came like the wonderful being he is and saved each and every one of us. I haven't been able to purify myself until today, however. It fills me with joy to be chosen."

I looked at all of the people waiting eagerly to be allowed through the large door towering in front of us. "Oh, is that what we're doing? We're waiting to be purified?"

The old lady nodded. "Yes. It is the final step to forming an eternal bond with the Holy Synldin."

"My father told me as a child that the priests are immortal," the girl chimed. "The purification process is the gateway to living forever. Not only will I get to become immortal if his story is true, but I'll get to see him and my mother again."

Gray's eyebrows furrowed. "You haven't seen your parents ever since they became priests?"

She shook her head. "No. The priests work during the day, and they aren't allowed to leave at night unless told to. I never got to see them." Her smile brightened. "But now I'll be able to see them! Every day! And in a few years, my little brother will join us, too!"

My eyes widened with utter confusion. "Wait, you're leaving your little brother behind to be a priestess?"

"Yes," she replied. "But he's already fourteen. He's perfectly capable of taking care of himself for a little while."

The confusion inside me was morphing into disbelief and anger as my eyes narrowed. "He's fourteen. Fourteen and alone. No one is going to take care of him, or even keep him company?"

"He has his friends, and he's already learned how to earn money for food and clothes."

Gray shook his head. "But he's just a kid! And he's your brother! How will you be okay with abandoning a child?"

Her face shifted to one of complete offense. "How dare you say I'm abandoning him! I'm keeping him safe by becoming one with The Lord! Aren't you here to preserve your families' happiness?"

"My family died long ago," I replied coldly. "I have no one to protect like you do. I'm putting an effort into ridding Fiore of evil."

Her eyes widened when I said this, sadness and pity filling her. "Oh. I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't know. But what about your friends? You have friends, don't you?"

I allowed a smile to form on my face, and I rested my hand on Gray's arm. "I have a friend with me. With him coming along, I know I'll be perfectly fine with being purified."

Immediately after I was finished talking, the large door blocking our way opened slowly. A monk stood in the doorway, completely still and silent like the ones lining the walls. He didn't say a word to us, and he didn't look at any one of us. He just turned around and walked into the darkness behind him. We all followed him without question, everyone smiling and beaming with excitement. I was pretty happy, too, but not for the reason everyone else was. I was eager to learn the secrets this god had for me.

The room was dark. Extremely dark. When the door closed behind us, it got even darker. I couldn't see what was on the walls, or where the walls even were. The priest that led us in had disappeared into the shadows. The only light in the room was a green glow coming from a stone bowl in the center of the room. Behind the bowl and the table it sat on was Synldin himself. He wasn't anything like the man we saw hours before; he was haunting, his icy eyes were narrowed and dangerous. The sly smile on his pale face made the hairs on the back of my neck tingle. The green light coming from the bowl cast an eerie glow on him. He seemed completely indifferent to the low hum similar to the drone of a machine or to the high-pitched chimes easily mistaken as screams.

The first thing I wanted to do when I walked in was to walk right back out. But when I turned my head to look at the door, I couldn't even see it anymore. The green light didn't reach that far. I turned my head back around and stared at Synldin, trying to keep my increasing fear contained. I glanced to the side when I felt something touch my hand. The faint outline of Gray came to my eyes, his muscles tensed up. I allowed him to wrap his fingers around my hand; the tight squeeze kept me a little more calm, since I knew he was right there with me. I wouldn't be surprised if even he was fazed by this.

"My friends," Synldin finally spoke, his voice holding the same level of kindness it had before. "I welcome you to the Hall of Cleansing. I am very pleased to see that your souls are noble enough to wish not for yourselves, but for others." His head tilted slightly. "But I'm surprised to see so few of you here."

The young girl from before walked forward one step. "The others are too selfish and blind to see their true purpose, my Lord." she said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Yes, I completely agree with you," He stood from his seat. "Their souls are still heavily contaminated. Yours, however, have been cleaned." He held his hand out to her. "Come closer, child."

Obeying like a loyal pet, she walked forward and took his hand. Now that she was in the light, I could see her face. She was completely terrified. Seeing her pained eyes made me squeeze Gray's hand even harder. He replied by rubbing his thumb along a few of my fingers.

"What is your name?" Synldin asked her, gliding his hand along her face and hair as if he was studying her.

"M-Margaret," she answered weakly. "My name is Margaret."

The smile on his face grew. "Yes, I remember you. You came with your parents when they were accepted." He guided her over to the bowl, being extremely gentle with her as if she was a broken child. "Are you ready to be permanently cleansed of impurities, and join me in my quest?"

Margaret immediately nodded. "I am."

A sound almost like steam was heard, growing louder as Synldin's smile grew in size. It was no longer kind; it was a dark, evil smile. "Good." The light in the bowl suddenly turned purple as a violet flame emerged. That eerie glow spread out all over the room, exposing shelves. On the shelves were glass bottles... Filled with screaming souls. "Citizens and travelers," His voice was deeper and filled with a demonic happiness. "Margaret... I will cleanse you."

It was quiet only for a moment before a blood-curdling scream came to my sensitive ears. Margaret bent backwards harshly, her spine cracking loudly. I stared in horror at her terrified, agonized face. A small ball of light floated out of her open mouth as her horror-filled eyes went hollow. Her shriek faded away and her body fell to the floor. The pain in her face remained. The ball of light that came out of her mouth was tainted slightly with black, and as soon as Synldin touched it, the black turned into a mist and filled the amulet around his neck.

I couldn't breathe the sight was so horrifying. I felt like vomiting just by looking at his pleasure-filled face. I snapped out of it when I was being pulled towards the door by Gray. I shook my head and began running with him to the only place we could escape. However, right before we made it out, I felt someone jerk me away from both the exit and my friend. Complete terror consumed me when I was spun around to lock eyes with the evil black orbs of the demon they called a god. I couldn't do anything whatsoever before excruciating pain filled me. I couldn't help but scream as my body was bent backwards. The pain kept gaining and gaining in strength. I felt my entire existence being ripped out of me. I couldn't close my eyes, no matter how badly I wanted to. I did, however, manage to form words through my pain. I don't even think my mouth moved, but the three painful words were still crystal clear.

_"Gray! Help me!"_

Immediately, the pain ceased and I was dropped to the floor. I laid there shaking for a little while before I forced myself to move. Synldin was on the ground, ice completely covering him and keeping him trapped. The ice was melting quickly, however, and in large portions. I was quickly lifted up by two strong arms and carried out of the door and into the hallway. I couldn't help but smile when I saw it was him. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet," Gray replied. There was a fear in his voice that mirrored my own. "We're not safe until we get out of here."

I nodded and jumped out of his arms, ignoring the pain as I ran beside him. It was easy to dodge any priests that came towards us; they were trying to grab the other people running for their lives, and the ones that ran for us were extremely slow. We stopped running when the main room came into view, staring at the giant mass of monks and screaming humans running around. We couldn't go in there without getting pushed around by scared people or soul-starved enemies. I made a split-second decision to grab Gray's hand and pull him down the nearby corridor that was originally blocked off. The pounding of my heart and the speed of my breathing matched my fast sprint as we made out way up a flight of stairs to the second floor.

There was one door at the top of the stairwell that we ran through. On the other side of it was a giant room with marble floors and columns everywhere that reminded me of a ballroom. It didn't look like there were many doors from what I could see, but there was a giant window at the far end of the room. It looked out at the whole courtyard and the older districts of the city. Apparently, both Gray and I had the same idea, because we both went darting towards the window. Our idea was to break through it and use our magic to create a safe way down to the ground, then run all the way to the hotel.

The slamming of doors made me jump a bit. Looking around, I had to stop running because of all the people beginning to block our way. They just stood there, staring at us with stone hard glares. As I looked at them with equal hatred, my eyes widened when I noticed a few of them had no masks on. Their faces were rotting. They were actually rotting. The skin on their faces were drooping in places, completely gone in others. They were dead. These people had died.

That's when it hit me. All of the souls in those jars belonged to these people. Synldin was lying to them, luring them to their demise. Then he would control their bodies so he could lure even more people into his trap. I moved closer to Gray and grabbed his arm, not taking my eyes off of the priests.

"Tell me, Tori," Gray whispered into my ear. "Are you good at ice skating?"

My eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Ice skating? What does that have to do with-"

"Just answer the question."

I still didn't get it, but I answered anyway. "Yeah, I guess..."

Gray took a couple of steps forward, allowing ice to pulse from his hands. "Good. Don't stop moving, and keep your main focus on getting to the window." Before I could ask what he was talking about, he slammed his icy hands onto the floor. The entire marble surface froze over with the slippery substance, making it even harder for the priests to walk. Most of them fell over when they tried to lunge at us.

Oh, I get it! We were going to skate through them and out the window! Clever Fullbuster. I allowed him to grab my arm and sling me forward, giving me a much-needed boost. I hopped slightly and allowed thorny blades to form on the bottoms of my shoes, using them like the blades on ice skates. The priests split into two large groups, one following me, the other tracking Gray. I decided to play with them and began figure skating around the marble columns. Sometimes I would turn sharply to send some of them into a wall, sometimes I would circle a small clump of them to get them dizzy. At any other point in time I would just skate around, showing off skating skills I forgot I had. I caught Gray watching me during my fun, and when I saw his entertained smirk, I smiled right back at him.

Eventually, one of the stronger monks grew so irritated, he decided to lash out at the floor. At first I thought he was trying to break the ice - which didn't work at all - but I quickly changed my mind when I saw him using magic. When he hit the ground with both of his fists, purple ripples came flying around the room. It looked like a toxic electricity to me. I didn't want to find out what it actually did. Every time one of the ripples came my way, I would quickly jump over it before continuing towards the window.

However, the 'fresher' priests didn't like my idea. They decided to abandon going after Gray and moved onto me. They were much quicker than the other ones, which made me worry slightly. They didn't fall for my quick turns or my dizzying spins, either. They just continued following me.

Even if I was cautious about it due to my aching back, I decided to use my magic against them. I hopped a little and spun around, now skating backwards. I popped my knuckles quickly before I held a hand out in front of me. Vines began growing through the ice, tripping the priests or latching onto them and holding them still. They quickly caught on with that, though, and began jumping over the obstacles. I changed tactics and allowed vines to shoot out from the columns, wrapping around them and pulling them into the stone structures to trap them. The stronger ones cut loose, however, with knives and swords they neglected to show me. Growing annoyed, I decided to shoot thorns out of my hands to knock them out. It worked for a little while; all of them fell down and didn't get back up. But more came over, right as I was growing a little too tired. My magic was running out quickly, too, since I was still hurt.

I made one mistake, though. I was so focused on the people following me, I didn't even notice there was someone in my way. I ran right into one of the slow but strong priests, throwing me off completely and sending me crashing to the floor. I would have slid away if he didn't grab me and pick me up by the throat. He stared at me for a while before he began spinning the both of us around, gaining a lot of speed before he let me go. I was sent flying across the room and onto the icy ground, a grunt escaping me when my body felt the impact. I slid along the ground, unable to move fast enough before I ran into one of the columns. It hit me right in the back, which was still harshly effected from when Synldin cracked it before. I screeched with pain as the hard rock hit my spine, being brought to a complete standstill because of the familiar agony I returned to.

I could hear the electricity from the attacking monk's magic growing louder and louder as another ripple grew closer to me. I waited for more pain to come to me, but I never felt it. In fact, I couldn't feel the ice on my body, and the torment from before was draining away. When I opened my eyes, they met Gray's dark, worried ones. "Gray? When did you-"

"Quit screaming like that." he interrupted as he closed his eyes. He stopped skating and sat me down on my feet far enough away from the enemies to be safe. He held my arms rather roughly as he began to collapse. He was slumping over, and his head was beginning to rest on my shoulder.

"H-Hey!" I put my hands on his arms, my eyes widened with concern. "Are you okay? What ha-"

"Don't scream like that again," he said with gritted teeth. His voice was cracking harshly. "Every time you scream like that, I think someone's killing you." Somehow, the rough grip on my arms tightened. "You've come too close to dying too many times."

I stared at him, my eyes wide and my face beginning to burn. He was shaking. Ice mages don't get cold, and I could tell he wasn't angry. Was he... Crying? "Gray?"

The shaking that I felt grew stronger and more noticeable to my eyes. "I can't... I can't handle the thought of you... You've gotten in so much danger already in the short time you've been around..." His voice grew more distressful as he continued speaking. "Every single time, I've come to save you... It's like I'm in charge of keeping you alive... What if.. What if I don't make it to you next time? What if I can't save you again? I... I won't be-"

I silenced him by wrapping my arms around him. I held him tightly in an attempt to keep him calm. "It's okay," I said. "I'm not going to die. I'm not going to die, because I'll be right beside you. That way you'll always save me in time." I smiled when he wrapped his arms around me and his shaking slowly began to stop. "You'll always be able to save me. In any situation, at any time, I won't fall."

"You don't know-"

"I do know." I said gently. "I believe in what I say, Gray. The words I'm telling you are words I truly believe in. I really do think that you will always keep me alive. Okay?"

I felt Gray's body move with his exhale as he relaxed to my words. He held me for a moment longer before he pulled back. "Okay." He locked his eyes with mine once more. They were filled with determination and that same soft emotion from earlier that day. "It's a promise, Tori."

I smiled, allowing him to hold my hand as we turned back to the priests. They were enraged, I could tell. Anyone else would have continued running to the window to try and save their lives. However, the two of us stayed. We stood ready for them and their attacks. This time, we wouldn't let them get the better of us.

They launched themselves at us without a moment of hesitation. All of them were finally allowing the blades they held to pulse with some sort of dark magic, as if they were expecting to hit us with ease. The two of us, though, surprised them extremely well. Coming out of the ground, walls, and ceiling were steel-hard vines made of ice. The cold nature lashed at anyone that got near us, blowing them back into the shadows where they would never emerge again. Finally, when they began hesitating to attack us, Gray and I turned to face each other, entwining our other hands together. We smiled at each other before turning our heads to the remaining priests, glaring deeply at them. We projected whatever magic we had left into this one move. In my time, we called them Bonding Blasts. In this generation, I believe they call them Unison Raids.

Icy blue and vibrant green lights surrounded us as our magic took effect. Two giant magic circles formed, a blue one below our feet, a green one above our heads. Slowly but surely, something began to take form behind us. I couldn't see what it was; I had closed my eyes to focus completely on using all of my magic. But whatever it was, it was big and deadly. I opened my eyes again when I heard a deafening roar, and before I could register what it came from, a giant beam of blue and green power shot out at the monks and completely engulfed them.

When the beam disappeared after a much-needed explosion (sarcasm intended, by the way), I stared in astonishment at what just happened. Whatever we created was gone now, but so were the monks. All but one of them had been vaporized. Obliterated. Removed from existence entirely. The only one remaining was collapsed on the no-longer-icy floor, still and defeated.

Exhaustion filled me as I reached my complete limit. I collapsed into my friend, drained entirely of magic and energy. "That's it," I muttered. "We did it."

"Yeah," Gray held me once more, his arms much weaker than before due to his own lack of energy. "It's over."

I chuckled weakly, barely a smile forming on my face. "I don't think I'll be able to walk now."

He moved to hold me with one arm around my waist, helping me stay up that way. "There. This should do until we get back to the others."

"Okay."

We began walking towards the window again at a snail's pace, both of us too tired to move quickly. When I heard a noise behind us, I turned my head and stared amazed at the remaining monk. He was slowly standing up, a dagger in his bloody hand. It was completely coated in a purple fluid that would threaten anyone's life. He stared at us with terror for a few seconds before he screamed, "My Lord Synldin! Forgive me!" He grasped the dagger with both of his hands and plunged it right into his stomach.

Gray and I stared in horror at the already-dead man committing suicide. It was the aftermath, however, that caught us off guard. The monk's body rapidly expanded at an insane speed until he himself exploded with such power and intensity, the entire roof of the cathedral blew off. The two of us went flying out of the building and towards the town, soaring through the sky in the center of that blast.

I couldn't feel anything but agony. The impact of that explosion filled me with so much pain that it felt like it was the only thing I could feel at all. But even if I didn't want to, I opened my eyes to see what was happening. Gray and I were laying on the ground, wrapped in each other's arms. Wait, the ground? But we were above the buildings. I had no time to think about it; as soon as I saw the ground we were laying on and the tops of the highest buildings below us, my eyes closed and everything faded away. Even the pain dispersed into nothing in this uncomfortable black.


End file.
